


Borrowed Time

by WingedLadyColette



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Timeline, F/M, Time Travel, force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-08-28 17:08:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8454739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedLadyColette/pseuds/WingedLadyColette
Summary: Palpatine betrayed them all. He stands over Padme's bed, after she just gave birth to her two children, and quietly snuffs out her life. But in the darkness that surrounded her, she heard a voice "Want for you to live, I do."





	1. Remember

It was strange. Just so strange. It's hard to explain. Even harder to understand. She loved him. She really did. It was something that just came naturally to her. Loving him, that is.

"You betrayed me!"

In her heart, and her mind, she knew this whole-heartedly. She knew this solely. She knew this truly.

"N-No!"

But it was like that moment, when they were finally reunited after all of the scary news that had been circling around Coruscant and the Senate alike, she thought that everything would start to work out somehow. She didn't think that it would be easy, but she thought that with everything going on, it would all finally start to sort itself out when she returned to Anakin's side.

She may be the older of the two of them - Anakin and herself - but there was always something about him that made him seem so wise and mature that she couldn't help falling for him. She loved him. She knew that she did. With all of the fear and uncertainty around her, she naively thought that by finally being with him again, it would all somehow be okay.

There was just something about him. Somehow he was able to make her feel better. He was always able to make her feel better.

She can easily recall a time, almost thirteen years prior, to when she, her entourage, fellow Nabooian and Jedi guards basically crash landed on Tatooine and went to a junk shop to try and find the pieces they needed to get their ship working again. She remembered the cute little boy calling her an angel. She remembered the sand storm they were almost trapped in had that same little boy not come to their rescue. He brought them - them, strangers! - to his home with his mother to help them out and get them out of the storm.

That night, Qui-Gon slept on the couch, Jarjar slept on the floor in the living room with R2-D2 in the corner while Padme and nine-year-old Anakin squeezed into his little bed together. It was their first night together. No in the manner of sex, seeing as he was nine and she was fourteen, but she had never shared her space so intimately with another person. It was cold and his shutters did little to keep the chill out. Anakin's little body curled up in her arms, because there was no room otherwise, she felt relatively warm.

Anakin acted like a little furnace.

Padme wasn't a fan of someone in her space, but Anakin was so cute and innocent, she didn't mind it too much. She felt bad for him and his life - and felt so pretentious for thinking that, which made her feel even worse - and only wanted the best for him. He was a good little boy that was going out of his way to help strangers when he didn't have to. He grew up in a harsh environment that didn't promote much enthusiasm in helping others, yet he didn't even bat an eyelash at any of it. Any time they needed help, he would jump in.

Padme didn't get much sleep that night, worried about all of the people of Naboo. It didn't feel right that she would be somewhere, relatively warm, well fed with a good home-cooked meal - Shmi was a wonderful cook - while her people were starving and wondering if they were going to live to see tomorrow. It just didn't settle well with her and left her feeling sick to her stomach.

At some point that first night she pulled herself from Anakin, trying hard not to wake him so that she could move closer to the window, letting the cold air sooth her a bit. Her body was flushed and her throat was constricting. There is this horrible pit in her stomach that she's had since she laid down for sleep earlier that night. It just isn't right. She should have been there, on Naboo, with her people.

She knew that her suffering with them wasn't going to help them - anyone - but it felt wrong otherwise. She was having a hard time adjusting to not being on Naboo with her people while they are suffering. She just kept thinking about them, wanting to go back there and help them. It just didn't feel right. She knew that she had to stand before the Senate and reveal the Trade Federation's occupancy of Naboo. They needed to see that.

Anakin woke up at some point during the night, Padme was so lost in her thoughts. Maybe it was because she was also his source of warmth in the cold night, or perhaps he just woke for another reason, but either way he woke up and went to her. He asked her why she wasn't sleeping and if she had a bad dream. It was so sweet of him to worry about her, but it also made her feel bad. His life was so much harder than hers overall, but she still felt back that he was trying to comfort her. Yes, her people were in danger and frightened by the occupation, but this little boy with no grasp of such things was still worried about her.

It just felt like too much.

She told him that she was fine. That she would be fine once they reached Coruscant and the Queen was able to speak to the Senate. Once they heard from her, they would understand. She had to believe so, at least.

The people of Naboo wouldn't last much longer if the Senate decided not to help them. Thankfully, luck was on their side and she was able to convince them. With a little luck from a cute little Tatooinian boy who came to wish her the best of luck even if he didn't know he was directly speaking to her when he wished them the best of luck that he was talking to her.

She enjoyed that little moment, as fleeting as it was, when he wished her luck with the Senate. She wanted to pat his head or give him a hug and thank him for working so hard to help get her there. He did so much for her and she didn't want him to think that it went unnoticed. His sole focus wasn't Queen Amidala, but Padme, and that meant so much to her. Since she was a little girl she had been working tirelessly to be Queen of Naboo that she had somehow already lost her name by the time she had finally made it. For someone to see her as Padme and not Queen Amidala, it was refreshing and something that made her very happy.

But at the same time, she knew that she couldn't be Padme at that moment. She couldn't be the Padme that wanted to go home and make sure that her home and her people were okay. She had to be Queen Amidala, tough and angry, trying to help her people. It wasn't enough to hope that they are okay, she had to go the extra mile and make sure of it.

So the façade had to stay in place for the duration of their time on Coruscant. But as they were leaving, she was in the handmaiden garbs and able to be Padme once more.

She was scared when they returned to Naboo. She was scared that she wouldn't be able to convince Boss Nass to help them get back Naboo. She was scared that they wouldn't be able to stop the Trade Federation and that the people of Naboo would, not only continue to suffer, but would also die by the hands of those brutes. It just wasn't right. That was the last thing that she would want to happen.

When they won and Qui-Gon was killed, she knew that they would be separated for a long time. She thought that he was so adorable and pure but knew that he had a life outside of Naboo. He was to be a Jedi and while she would never claim to be an expert on Jedi, she knew that the life that they've chosen is one of sacrifice and solitude.

Kind of like her - giving of one's self for the good of her people as the Queen - but on such a wider scale and much more strict.

She stood on the landing pad with her guards and handmaidens a few feet behind her, watching as Anakin and Obi-Wan were walking toward the borrowed Nabooian vessel for their trip back to Coruscant. Obi-Wan kept looking down at Anakin as the little boy would look over his shoulder at Padme, then up at Obi-Wan as if feeling his eyes, before looking back at her.

Right before the ship, they stopped and Obi-Wan said something to him. She doesn't know what, though, she couldn't hear them over the harsh wind pulling at her long, elegant dress. She can guess what he said, though, because Anakin turned around and ran to her, throwing his arms around her waist. She was surprised for a moment, forgetting that she was Padme at that moment with that little boy before lacing her fingers through his hair and hugging him close for just a moment before letting him go and kneeling down.

"Goodbye Padme," Anakin had said softly, tears wetting his pretty gray eyes.

"Not goodbye," Padme had said softly back, caressing his cheek with the pad of her thumb. "Until we see each other again. Okay, Anakin?"

Anakin smiled, a truly beautiful and wonderful smile that lit up his entire face. She didn't know that that would be one of the last times she saw such a big and beautiful smile on his face. At nine years old his number of big, true smiles were limited.

"Ana-" Her throat closes up. She can't breath. She's going to die.

Seeing him again after ten years was unlike anything that she imagined. The chemistry between them in just a moment - the single moment in which their eyes locked together - was enough to ignite the space between them. At first she was shocked to see him. She hadn't expected to see him as he was. Yes, many years had past and logically she knew that he would have to grow up, he wouldn't be that little boy anymore, but he wasn't as she expected he'd be. He was so tall and handsome. She wasn't expecting to see him as he was.

In a sense, he was beautiful.

When those bugs were in her room, she didn't want Anakin or Obi-Wan there because she didn't want to face the chemistry between herself and Anakin after all these years and she didn't want Obi-Wan standing over her while she slept. She just wanted to be alone. She's thankful that Anakin and Obi-Wan were able to come in when they did and stop those poisonous bugs from getting her, but the moment Anakin flew into her room, scaring her awake, landing over top of her with his blue lightsaber spinning around his body, she was paralyzed.

Was she afraid? Sure, her life was in danger and suddenly her guards were in her room as she slept. But as he stood on his knees over top of her, one leg on either side of hers with his arms spread wide and his eyes locked on her, she felt the connection stronger than she had just hours before. Obi-Wan shattered that moment where their eyes were locked with his body flying through her window and onto the droid that administered the bugs Anakin had killed.

Then he was gone.

They went to Naboo not long afterward, Anakin and Padme. It was a mixture of steamy because of the chemistry and awkward because Padme knew, logically, that it wasn't right for Padme and Anakin to be together. She was five years older than him, as the least of it, but she was a Senator now - ex-Queen - of Naboo and he was a Jedi. They did not belong together. They shouldn't be doing this - whatever this is - and they shouldn't be feeling the way they were. She told him no. She told him they can't be together, yet they shared two kisses during their time there.

"Anakin!"

They went to Tatooine after Anakin told her about his nightmares. His mother's death, she just couldn't imagine it. Ever since she was young and became Queen of Naboo, she lost genuine contact with her own parents. She didn't have any sort of time for them anymore. As horrible as it sounded and made her feel, it stopped being about her and her parents and became about the people of Naboo as a whole. Her parents understood and said goodbye happily to her, knowing that she would be a great Queen and be away from them to protect everyone, but when her two terms were up and she was offered to continue being Queen for a third term, which is against the rules but the people were willing to look the other way because they viewed her as the best Queen Naboo has seen in a long time, she turned them down.

She believed that her time as Queen came and went and now it was time for her to pass the torch as they have had Queens do for as long as time has permitted. But she also believed that her calling came elsewhere. As much as she loved the people of Naboo, she believed that she would still be able to help them, no longer as their Queen but as their Senator.

Being a Senator takes her away from Naboo completely, so her time with her parents - now that she is no longer Queen - has vanished completely. She didn't mind as much as she would like to. She had gotten letters from her parents, but was never very close to them. The short time she spent with Anakin and Shmi Skywalker, she knew that their bond ran deep. So much deeper than her own connection with either of her parents - both together and separate.

She could only imagine how he felt, so she didn't give him a choice in the matter and basically said that he could do his job by coming with her to Tatooine or be left behind. He went with, and maybe it wasn't a good idea. Shmi died, Anakin saw it. He was there for it. Padme doesn't know which is worse. That he was there and actually saw the life leave her eyes, or if he hadn't been there.

If she hadn't made him come with her, then maybe Anakin wouldn't have killed all of those Tuscan Raiders. She wasn't sure she believed that they deserved to live to continue to hurt and kill other people, but she wasn't sure that they should have just died. That Anakin should have been the one to kill them. He told her the truth, that he killed women and children along with the men. He wanted to scare her, she thinks. He was so upset over the death of his mother and his own rage that he wanted her to hate him too.

But she couldn't hate him. He was in so much pain and... she loved him. She loved him and didn't want to let him wallow in his pain. Not alone. She was going to be there for him if no one else would. He felt so alone in that very moment, she wasn't going to let him be in that place by himself. She would never forget what he did for her and her people. He saved them in many ways. She wouldn't betray him, ever.

"Let her go!"

Everything just kept going. The call from Obi-Wan about the clones. Geonosis. Their kiss and confessed love. She gave in. The arena. Count Dooku's involvement with the Visroy. The Jedi coming to the rescue. The battle. They were getting surrounded. They were going to die. Everything is happening so fast. She wasn't scared. Not to die. Yoda. He was there with troops. Clones. Padme and the remaining Jedi managed to escape and chased after Dooku.

Anakin lost his arm in the ensuing battle against Dooku. He's lucky it wasn't his life. Padme was so scared. Anakin was placed under, the trauma from losing his arm was causing him to slip into shock. When he woke up he was so ashamed. Padme was there by his side, having refused to leave for anything. Not a single moment was he alone by choice. Obi-Wan was there too. They had a lot of time to talk.

They spoke quietly to one another while Anakin was in surgery to get his mechanical arm implanted at the end of his right handed stump. It was nothing important. Obi-Wan didn't ask her about her time with Anakin on Naboo, or when they were suddenly on Tatooine. In fact, they spoke about the weather and recent news: the war, like it was any other day. Perhaps Obi-Wan would have wanted to talk about more important things if he wasn't also heavily medicated because of the saber burns on his leg and arm.

Their talking stopped once they were allowed into Anakin's hospital room. They were so preoccupied staring at Anakin's sleeping face as the lifted the drugs they had him on and he was started waking up. After he woke up and remembered that he agreed to a mechanical arm, he was ashamed and immediately did everything he could to hide it. He was actually ashamed of losing his arm. To Dooku of all people, like Dooku was a newly minted Padawan and not a one time Master. He just kept it under the covers and refused to move the arm at all, in the slightest less it draw any attention to it.

He had to go through extensive rehabilitation for that arm, like Obi-Wan had to for his leg, having cauterized some of the muscles there. His surgery wasn't until a day or two later, but his rehabilitation was a lot quicker and ended before Anakin's did.

They went to Naboo together, Anakin and Padme. She asked him to marry her. She wasn't going to waste another moment. She was so scared before that she had lost him without ever really having him. She wasn't scared to die, but she was scared to lose him. He was so depressed and upset by the turn of events that when she asked him to marry her as they made their way back to Naboo, he was so happy, smiling so brightly that she knew that she made the right choice. She knew that she already loved him. Sure, they would have to live in secret, but if he was willing to live in the lie with her, she will with glee.

She loved him. She did. When they stood there at the alter, alone, staring into each other's eyes, she knew that she would love him forever. He was the only one for her. She was so happy, and scared, for what the future could possibly hold for them, but knew that she would be able to face it, regardless of whatever it happened to be so long as he remained by her side. Together, they would be fine. That much she knew.

She was so happy she couldn't breath.

Couldn't breath...

Couldn't...

Can't...

Can't breath.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan yells so loud over the searing heat and boiling magma around them. Padme felt the intense pressure on her throat loosen until it's gone, as she is pulled away from her thoughts. Or, perhaps, was her life flashing before her eyes? That wasn't all of her life. There was all of the moments that followed her marriage to Anakin. Their first night together. The war. The accidents in one person's judgment or another that drove them together in the thicket of battle. Him calling out to her, or her to him. The sneaking glances and careful moments when they would slip away from those around them and meet up somewhere dark and empty so that they could wrap their arms around each other. The whispers.

"Ani."

"Padme."

Every moment they were both about to die and they would lock eyes with one another, unable to say aloud what was so strong in their hearts. Padme loved Anakan. She loved him so much it burned hotter than the magma boiling on the surface of Mustafar inside of her. All she wanted was to go back in time, not too long, though. Just to the moment she told him that he was going to be a father. The look on his face; wonder, worry, happiness. When he ran into her, pulling her so tightly into his arms and spinning her around, laughing so happily in her ear, unable to contain his jubilance.

The softness of his hair in her left hand as it woven it's way into the soft, curly locks. Something that she enjoyed doing. His hair was always so soft and curly and she loved it. He grew up such a simple life that he never cared to measure his appearance or tend to it one way or the other, but she always thought he was the most handsome man around.

She thought for certain those three years prior that she had loved him when she asked him to marry her. These last few years, every moment that they had together was in varying degrees of wonderful. They spent every moment that they could together, no matter what. Whenever he came back from the war, she would push her meetings back or align them with his meetings with the council so that they could spend as much time as humanly possible with one another.

They were so happy. They were together. The war was over. They were finally able to be together. They were going to have a family. A child of their very own. Now was their time to really be together. To finally get passed the honeymoon phase of their relationship since they were away from one another so often it felt like their lives could finally, truly start.

They loved one another. That was all that they needed.

The last thing she saw was Anakin's angry sulfur yellow eyes - so ugly and marring in the place of his one time beautiful bluish gray ones - stared back at her and it felt like in the moment, she had truly lost him.

As her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, her heart shattered into a million pieces. She collapsed onto the hard ground and blacked out.

 

Padme woke up, still on Mustafar to the sound of Obi-Wan quickly running toward her. He drops down next to her, yelling something to C3P0 that sounded like, "Start the ship!" before he pulled her into his arms in a smooth, quick movement before he carried her onto the ship. She opens her eyes slowly, her breathing is rough and ragged and her throat is hurting.

Padme blinks a few times, trying to clear her bleary vision as she looks over Obi-Wan's shoulder to see a smoldering ball of fire off in the distance and two figures moving toward them. The larger, taller one is moving much quicker, a red lightsaber swinging at his side as he tries to close the gap. The other is much smaller, hunched over and draped in a dark cloak, and moving much slower. Each movement is dainty and purposeful, as if they wanted to stay back and watch as the scene played out in front of them.

"Padme!" The man charging toward them yelled, so loud it was like an animal's roar. She didn't know who it was, but they were somehow familiar to her. She just can't think of how. She doesn't remember ever knowing any sort of wild animal. She didn't know wild animals could speak, let alone know her name. Why is it so hard to think? Why is she so weak? Who is that? What does he want?

She takes a deep, ragged breath in realization. Wait... was that..? "Ani..?" she rasps, lifting her right arm, reaching out over Obi-Wan's shoulder toward the charging figure. Her movements are so slow and sluggish and she feels all of her energy fading, even though she isn't doing anything great. The figure moves faster, letting out a loud, angry bellow that sounded like her name but the darkness consumes her once more as the pad of the ship retracts, hiding the figure from sight completely.

The next few hours, when she awakened, she was in complete pain. Her stomach and crotch were in searing pain. The baby was coming. It's too soon! Too soon! They can't come now! She lost Anakin, she remembered with great agony, and now she was going to lose her child too. Everything was spiraling downward and she won't be able to do anything to stop it. She was going to lose everything.

Obi-Wan carries her inside, she remembers. She didn't know where she was, but there was a doctor there and a medic droid. She was giving birth to a child that wasn't ready to be born, and she was completely alone. Somewhere in the middle of pushing the baby out, she felt someone's hands wrap around her own. She looks over, tears streaming down her cheeks. It's Obi-Wan.

Him being there is bittersweet. She's happy that her friend is there with her so at least she's not alone, but she wished that it was Anakin instead. She wished that her husband, the father of her child was there with her. She would give just about anything.

Her children were born; Luke and Leia. They were so beautiful. They were perfect. If Anakin was at her side at that moment, then she wouldn't have turned her head away. She wouldn't have been unable to look at their beautiful, pure little faces and seen their handsome father in them. She would have been happy rather than forlorn. She would be proud instead of in pain.

She hated herself more than anyone else in that moment. She's not sure if Obi-Wan felt the same, but he looked surprised by the action. She shouldn't have turned away from her children, they did nothing to her. They were all she had left of Anakin. She should love them wholly and completely. And she does, in her heart, but at that precise moment, it's just too much. She will wrap them in her arms and love them without question, but in a moment. She needs a little bit of time.

Obi-Wan steps out of the room. She can see her friend, Bail Organa, and Jedi Grandmaster Yoda outside the observation window. She couldn't face them either. She had to turn completely away. She could hear the babies whining in the corner of the room as the doctor and medic droid tend to them carefully. She feels so weak and drained. She wishes she could just fall asleep now and wake up three years ago. Do something different somehow. Find out what and when everything went wrong and change it. Salvage their relationship, save the Jedi and stop Palpatine's rise to power. It was her fault to begin with that he was even there. She was the one who let the Dark Lord in.

She killed them all. Every Jedi, clone and civilian that has died because of Palpatine's rise to power was all on her head. She elected him Chancellor, like he wanted, and in some way these last few years she thought that they were allies, their ideals aligned and gave his every decision her full support. In some ways, it must be her fault that Anakin fell to the dark side and committed such horrible crimes against the Jedi.

It left her feeling broken and weak. All this hopelessness surrounding her made her feel like maybe... maybe she didn't deserve to be alive any longer. She shouldn't be there. It wasn't right that she be there and Anakin wasn't. She shouldn't be alive now when so many weren't. If she was to blame for everything, indirectly of course, then she should have to pay for it.

A little whimper from one of the babies pulls her from that darkness almost immediately. She looks over at the corner of the room, unable to really see Luke or Leia with the droid and doctor in the way, but there was a bit of wiggling and flailed limbs in her sight every once and a while. She couldn't leave them alone, Luke and Leia. They were just babies. They did nothing wrong. They didn't deserve to lose their father, only to be abandon by their mother. That wasn't right. She wasn't going to do that. She wasn't going to be the one to contribute to any more suffering. She was going to have to somehow make all of this right. She just... didn't know how.

But it started with living, she realized. She had to live.

"Padme..."

Padme's dark brown eyes rise a bit to the figure standing next to her. She hadn't noticed him there a moment ago, but now that she sees him, she can't believe she missed him. The moment her eyes spot the dark cloak, her stomach plummets and her heart rate rises. The crinkled, cruel face of what was once Palpatine stands over her, grinning down at her as if greatly pleased by something. She wanted to open her mouth, scream, maybe. Or perhaps push herself away. Anything to put distance between herself and the man who ripped her family, and her life, apart. But she couldn't move, couldn't speak. All she could do was stare.

Obi-Wan, Bail and Yoda stare in at her. Obi-Wan's eyes are wide in worry and pain, Bail looks mortified and concerned while Yoda's forest green eyes narrow a bit, contemplatively, his head tilting as if trying to see something.

It's then that Padme realized that she appeared to be alone in this room. That Palpatine was only visible to her. The doctor steps through Palpatine and doesn't react, he keeps talking to her, but she can't hear him. Her eyes locked on Palpatine's sulfuric yellow eyes.

Palpatine looked like the grim reaper at that moment. A god of death about bring release unto those that either desire it or not. No choice in the matter. And he appears to be taking glee from it.

Palpatine reaches out toward her with a crinkly, shaking hand, so pale and lifeless in color. Every centimeter closer to her it got, her chest started tightening as her heart pounded, making it harder and harder for it to beat and for her to breath. She could see darkness surrounding her vision as Palpatine's smile grew more cruel. She wanted to cry, scream at him to stop, but she couldn't. She was weak and helpless. She was but a mere ant next to this monster. She never stood a chance.

She wanted to live in that very moment. For Anakin, who lost himself. For Obi-Wan, who lost everything. For Luke and Leia, who now only had her and nothing more. And for everyone else, because she want to help change the galaxy. She wanted to bring the peace she always dreamed of as both a Queen and a Senator. But she's so tired and heartbroken now that it seems like she doesn't have the strength to even try and fight him.

Palpatine has won.

Padme's eyelids grow heady and they fall as soon as his hand touches her chest. There is this horrible pinching pain as her heart is squeezed before nothing. Absolutely nothing but darkness. A chill about it unlike anything she has ever felt. The chill sank so deep into her bones and her soul that she was far beyond shivering. She had become so completely numb, so quickly. This was it. It was all over.

Padme wanted to curl up into a ball. She wanted to hold her children, apologize for turning away. She wanted to hold her husband and never let him go. She wanted to see her friends; her handmaidens, Mon, Bail, Obi-Wan. She wanted to apologize for everything, bit and small to everyone. She just wanted to go back to the moments where she could do something to help someone. Where she could change the course of their horrible history. She could make it better, make more people happier, stop Palpatine from destroying it all.

The darkness and the chill settles for a moment. Padme feels it. Someone is right there with her. She can't see them, but she can certainly feel them as clearly as she would have been able to see them if she wasn't surrounded by darkness.

"Hello?" Padme calls, looking around, confused. "Is someone there? What do you want?" She's desperate and sad. More than anything else, she just wants guidance. Someone to help her figure this all out. Anyone. Even a disembodied voice, if there is one.

"Want for you to live, I do."


	2. Home

Padme didn't have any time to think or register what she heard other than recognition of the voice; that was definitely Master Yoda's voice.

"Senator?" Jarjar asks, making Padme blink slowly, feeling dizzy. One moment she was laying down, now she's standing upright. Her dark eyes fly toward Jarjar, seeing him standing off near the middle of the room, head tilted to the side and his fingers interlocked in front of his stomach. Then her eyes slide over to Obi-Wan, who had creases between his eyes, long blond hair reaching his shoulders before his haircut for the war. Then her eyes fall on Anakin, his hair chopped short with his long Padawan braid behind his ear and resting on his shoulder.

Padme's eyes find Anakin's. They are wide, innocent and open, with a touch of worry. They were the very familiar, very beautiful bluish gray that Padme always loved. She would look into them and try hard to commit them to memory. The signature scar over his right eye wasn't there yet too, giving credit to his Padawan braid.

But that didn't make sense. Why did he have his padawan braid? Where did his scar go? Why was Obi-Wan's hair long again? Why were they both standing before her? How did she get back from the hospital? What happened to Luke and Leia? Where did Jarjar come from? How is she back on Coruscant? Why is Anakin and Obi-Wan back to being friends? What is going on? What happened? That voice, when she blacked out after Palpatine...

Was that Yoda?

Yes, that backward talk and voice was distinctive. There is no way that could have been anyone other than Yoda. So what did he do? Is he giving her a vision of some sort? Trying to help her see something that she missed? Is this her life flashing before her eyes? Somehow, she imagined that if her life was flashing before her eyes, it would somehow be different. She would have control of her thoughts. It would almost be like living through it again.

Living through it again? Why did that ring a cord with her?

"Senator?" Obi-Wan asks, bringing her eyes away from Anakin's. She hadn't realized that she had just been staring into them, lost in her thoughts. Her head starts pounding and she has to close her eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning around her. She brings her hands up to her face, using them to cover her eyes for a moment. She could feel herself swaying from side to side, but she refused to be the standard damsel and fall into the arms of either of them men in front of her. She's strong, she knows that it's all in her head. She has to keep herself calm and upright and it'll settle with time.

"My lady," Dorme says, placing her hands on Padme's arms, trying to help hold her upright. "Are you alright? Can I help you?"

"I'm alright," Padme says, opening her eyes and turning to look at Dorme. "I'll be fine, thank you."

Dorme looks hesitant, like she wanted to protest, but then obeys, stepping back and bowing her head submissively. Padme offers her a dainty, weak smile, before looking over at Obi-Wan, who holds his hand out for her to take.

"Please, Senator, let's go and take a seat, shall we?"

Padme nods, taking his hand and walking over to the couches in the middle of the room. Padme sits down first and Obi-Wan sits down next to her. Anakin slowly lowers himself onto the couch across from them with only a small coffee table between them. Padme can feel his eyes on her, but she couldn't look at him yet. She was not acting as herself. She needed to salvage this conversation somehow. She doesn't really know what is going on, but she needs some time to really think about it. Maybe she can speak with Master Yoda. Perhaps he will have the answers she's looking for. She hasn't spent much time with Grand Master of the Jedi in her few years on the Senate, but she hoped that she would be able to now, if it was different then a flashback, which it is already becoming.

"I am sorry, Obi-Wan," Padme says softly, taking a slow deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts, before looking up into his light blue eyes. "I didn't mean to make a scene. My handmaiden, Corde, died in the most recent attempt on my life," she admits. "I am... still grieving, I think." It's not a lie. In fact, being back in this moment, she can feel the pain of the loss of her friend as freshly as she had when she first felt it. If she was somehow brought back in time, she wished it had been before they had left Naboo. Then she may have been able to save Corde's life.

Save her life..?

"Save us all, you can."

Padme looks over her shoulder, hearing the voice of Master Yoda in her ear, but he's not there. Where was he? What was going on? Could she really save people? Could she really change things? Save Anakin? Really? Have her family? Anakin could be with Luke and Leia? They could all be together? She could... she could stop Palpatine? Well, not her, she wasn't a Jedi, there was no way for her to fight a Dark Lord, but she could help them realize the truth.

"That is understandable," Obi-Wan says softly. "And I am terribly story for your loss, Senator."

Padme shakes her head. "With you here, Obi-Wan, I know that this will all be resolved soon enough," she says before her eyes finally flicker back over to the younger boy, still staring at her with this intense look on his face. "Ani," she says so softly, she barely realized that she spoke. His eyes light up a bit at the nickname. Or, maybe it was because she finally acknowledged him.

He was always like this. He was so innocent and cute. He was just like a little boy, always vying for her attention while trying not to be so obvious about it. She could recall one night, laying curled up in bed with him, one of the few nights that he was home from the war, him telling her that he's loved her since he was nine years old. The moment he saw her, he thought that she was an angel. That he loved her almost immediately. He wanted so badly, for so long, to be with her, when she finally agreed to marry him, to love him, he felt a tangible shift in himself.

"I don't need anyone else," Anakin said softly, his metal hand running up and down her bare back as she lay on his smooth chest, her head on his shoulder. "I don't need anything else. I just need you. Nothing, and no one, else matters. I would do anything for you."

She thought, at the time, that it was such a sweet sentiment. They hadn't seen each other in so long and the moments they did share together were fleeting, so he was trying to romance her a bit. At least, that's what she thought. But now she's beginning to wonder if those words were closer to the truth than she realized. Maybe she needs more time to think about it, but it could explain why he fell to the dark side.

He fell, because of her.

"I'm happy to see you," she says softly, her throat tightening a bit. She didn't know what to think. Was she really the one responsible for Anakin's fall? Is there anything that she can do to prevent it? Is that why she's even here? To be able to save him? Could she? She didn't know.

Anakin's smile is surprised, and kind. "I'm happy to see you too, Padme."

"Senator," Obi-Wan reminds him, sternly.

Padme looks over at her friend, realizing that at this point in time, they've barely spent any time together. They aren't really friends right now. Just... acquaintances, to say the most.

Padme opens her mouth, wanting to tell him that it was okay that Anakin call her that. She was used to it, anyway. She even wanted to insist that he call her Padme too, but then she realized how strange that would be. Anakin loved her, Obi-Wan did not. He would find it odd that someone he spoke a total of probably five times to, since they've met would want him to be so personal with her.

So she closes her mouth.

Anakin bows his head. "I'm sorry, Master." He's embarrassed. His gray eyes lower, scanning the carpet rather than looking into anyone's eyes. Yes, he's definitely embarrassed. It was so cute. She definitely liked Anakin's hair longer, but with it shorter, it gives him an almost pure look. Maybe it's because he still has his padawan braid behind his ear.

Knowing that she shouldn't address the issue, however mundane simple title is, Padme looks over at Obi-Wan. "Thank you for being here, Obi-Wan. I really do appreciate it. And you as well, Anakin." She looks back over at the young man who appears so bashful before her. As he grew older and joined the war, his bashfulness was something of a rarity, replace by smugness and haughtiness. She loved both versions equally, but it was the bashful Anakin that she originally fell in love with.

"You are quite welcome, Senator," Obi-Wan says. "You don't have to worry about your safety."

"And about the one's targeting you," Anakin quickly adds. "We will find them and we will stop them." He stares at her with steely blue eyes, intense and focused. He wasn't just saying those words. He meant them.

Obi-Wan must have sensed that too, or simply not liked his words, because he gives Anakin a pointed look. Disapprovingly, he says, "Forgive me, Senator, but my Padawan speaks out of turn. It is not our position to be looking for the one who did this, simply to keep you safe." Anakin frowns at his words, turning his eyes toward Obi-Wan's, when they lock together, he immediately backs down.

"Don't worry about it," Padme says, already knowing the truth - or was it just a version of the truth? - so she didn't want to drag out this conversation for fear that an argument would break out between the two jedi. "What matters is..." she hesitates. What did matter right now? Everyone was still alive. Palpatine didn't know that she knew who and what he was. She knew all about the war. What happened when, who went where. Strategies that she overheard Anakin talking about and later read about. She could do a lot of good. Help a lot of people. Like she's always wanted.

"What matters," Padme says, pulling herself back to look between the two men, "is that everything is going to be okay. I trust my life to the two of you." She dips her head a bit, politely.

"The pleasure, Senator," Obi-Wan says, "is all ours."

 

"Goodnight, Padme!" Jarjar calls as he's entering the elevator. "I'll sees you laters!"

"Goonight, Jarjar," Padme calls back, still sitting on her couch, going through some of the paper work that she missed while she was in transit from Naboo to Coruscant. She should have gone to bed a while ago, but she couldn't bring herself to. She kept Jarjar with her, basically forcing him to keep going over the bills and discussions that she could already figure out, because she was worried about going into her room for the night. She knows that Anakin will rush in and save her - or at least she hopes so - but there is something about walking into a knowingly dangerous situation that doesn't settle well with her.

No, that's not right. She's ready and willing to walk into any and every situation dangerous or not so long as it helps someone, but most of the time she doesn't have time to over-analyze the situation before walking into them. There is lives at risk and she has to do something in order to save their lives, so it's really a no-brainer in those moments.

But it's just her life right now. Yes, this helps lead them to Kamino and ultimately Geonosis, but people got hurt along the way. Namely the bounty hunter Jango hired to assassinate her this time, who lost her life, and Obi-Wan, who was tortured by Dooku on Geonosis. Is she just suppose to be okay with that? Is she going to consider the death of the one who tried to take her life as payback and the fact that Obi-Wan didn't complain about the torture after word as collateral? That just didn't seem right.

But alas, the night has to come to an end. Jajar has to get to his own home and go to sleep too, or, whatever it is that he does in his free time. She has to go to bed early too. She has meetings in the morning that she's not going to be able to attend to, but still needs rest for them anyway.

Plus, Dorme seems anxious for her to get some rest. She keeps staring at her from the corner of the living room. She's got to be partially worried about earlier, but Padme is also usually punctual when going to bed. Sleep is important to her, so that she can think logically when dealing with important business. She bids goodnight to Anakin and Obi-Wan, already speaking to both of them that neither could be present in the room while she sleeps, before changing.

As Dorme and a few others of her handmaidens work around her, Padme takes this moment to crane her neck over her shoulder to see the mirror against the wall behind her. Her eyes lock with her smooth, bare back without the ugly three nail marks on her back from the Nexu in the arena on Geonosis. It's so weird not to see the jagged pink scars on her tanned back anymore. It was something that marred her beauty, but it was something that she was proud of. She did something goof, went to help Obi-Wan and got them.

They were sensitive to the touch and Anakin would often touch them lightly with his finger tips. She both hated and loved the feeling. She knew he hated them because it shows that he failed in protecting her completely, but she was proud of them and wasn't going to let him think otherwise. Padme knew she was beautiful, but didn't want her beauty to define her. She wanted her actions - and her scars - to do that for her.

She looks away, a bit sad that they are gone.

She's been thinking about whether having Anakin or Obi-Wan in her room with her tonight is smart or not. It's natural that Anakin be there. She loved him. She married him. But what if they didn't attempt at her life tonight because he was there? She's worried for her life, but she's not the only thing that matters. If she's not attacked tonight, Obi-Wan never would have tracked Jango Fett all the way to Kamino and then Geonosis. Without knowing about the Clone army on Geonosis, there is no way the Republic would be ready to face the Separatists. She's worried about her life and who she hurts along the way, but this is about the Republic.

She has sworn to protect it. She was wrong the first time - she failed - but she isn't going to fail this time. If what she's seen was something she actually lived through and somehow Master Yoda has sent her back in time, she's not going to waste this chance. She's not.

Once she's dressed down for the night, she sends Dorme to bed, wishing her a goodnight before letting R2-D2 into the room and heading to bed. She lays down as far away from the window as she can, her back to it. She can't sleep, though. She just stares at the shadow of her window against the wall, waiting - painfully so - for the droid carrying those parasites to appear. She's not sure how long she laid there, staring at the moving shadows across the wall, wondering if this was the shadow that held those bugs.

Each time there was nothing. The shadow just kept moving on. There is still a bit of time.

Her eyes begin to droop closed, she's had a long day and a few nights of flying. She starts to drift to sleep, her eyelids are so heavy she's not sure she's able to force them open again as she falls deeper and deeper into slumber. Maybe she waited too long going to bed and they've since given up for tonight. Is she okay with that? Or, is she mad at herself for being such a coward? She didn't know.

She hears the soft hum of R2-D2 scanning the room, then sees his light behind her eyelids, jolting her awake. She opens her eyes, but doesn't move, feeling this horrible tightness in her chest something is in the room but R2-D2 doesn't appear to see it for the light goes off and he enters back into sleep mode. Padme looks up at the light against the wall and her entire body tenses up. There is definitely a shadow against the wall, staying perfectly still. It's happening. The bugs are definitely in the room with her.

Padme squeezes her eyes shut, begging with her mind for Anakin to come. She can't get up and run out, the droid will detach from the window and they will never be able to back track it. She couldn't leave. She couldn't move. She had to just let them come and pray that Anakin and Obi-Wan came rushing in soon.

It feels like hours have passed, each second dragging on so unbelievably long. Her entire body is starting to ache as it's wound up so tight like a spring. Where was Anakin and Obi-Wan? What were they out there doing? Did it usually take this long before? Or was she going to die because she waited so long going to bed and now Anakin and Obi-Wan aren't in a position to be able to help her at the moment?

She couldn't wait any longer, she can feel them crawling on her. Or, at least she's starting to believe that something is crawling on her. She could feel it like it's real. What was taking so long. She had to move, she had to move, she had to move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move!

Padme launches out of bed the same moment the door busts open and Anakin - her knight in shining armor - comes flying into the room, his lightsaber blazing to life in his hand. She runs into his chest and he wraps an arm around her, swing his lightsaber around a bit before the room falls silent. Padme's heart is pound, she can hear the blood roaring in her ears, but she can also feel another erratic heart beat, right next to her head. It's Anakin's. His entire body is tense, muscles pulled taut like a snake coiled back and ready to strike.

Padme takes a few breaths, trying to calm down, her fingers curled up in his robes. Once the moment has passed, she pulls away, just as Obi-Wan rounds the corner and into the room, spares a look at them - Anakin twists around at the waist to look at him - before his attention is drawn toward the droid outside of Padme's window. It pulls away from the window and turns to leave but before it can get too far away, Obi-Wan take a running leap out of the room, through the window, and onto the droid. It wiggles a bit before flying away with Obi-Wan still attached.

"Are you okay?" Anakin asks, looking down at Padme.

She nods quickly and takes a big step back. "Go, Anakin!"

He doesn't need to be told twice. He turns and runs back down the hallway he came from, right as Dorme comes rushing toward her the opposite way. She grabs onto Padme, brown eyes wide.

"Are you alright, my lady?" She asks.

Padme nods, sending a short glance toward her bed before stepping away, feeling sick to her stomach. She sends a look toward the captain of her guard as she leaves the room, Dorme attached to her arm and R2-D2 on her heels. They go and sit out on the couch. There is flurry of motion, people, and speaking. Padme just calmly murmurs that she's fine. She wasn't hurt. Anakin and Obi-Wan have been gone for a long time. No, she's not worried.

Padme closes her eyes for a moment, settling her thoughts, before she opens her eyes and watches as people walk about her apartment. Her handmaidens and guards, and the Senatorial security also find their way into her apartment, asking her all sorts of questions about what she was doing, what she saw. Once they were done, repairmen came in and fixed her window. Padme didn't move from her spot on the couch and refused to stay in another place for the night. She watched as the bugs bodies, now sliced in half were removed form her apartment in clear plastic bags for later study.

Now that the attempt is over with, as she had predicted - or like the memory? - she is finally able to relax. Padme can't think that what she went through was anything less than a went through. She doesn't want to think that everything she saw, felt, learned, did, and had done to her, was all a vision of the future. She wasn't a jedi, she didn't have any sort of sensitivity to the Force, she's lived on Coruscant long enough that someone would have probably said something sooner, so she knows it wasn't some vision. She lived through it. It was her life that she went through. It wasn't a chance to change the future, it's a chance to rewrite it, before it even happens.

Padme doesn't know exactly what happened or how Yoda did it, but he had to of been the reason that she's back with the memories of her future self. Somehow, he made this possible. It's because of him that she is here. When she has the chance she's going to see him and ask what's going on. Hopefully when she was brought back here, he was too.

At least then he will be able to tell her what she needed to do for certain. Then, like that, the entire Jedi Order is on their side. If they had the grand master, it would be easier to figure this all out.

Padme knew that she was going to save Anakin. She was not going to allow him to fall to the dark side, especially not because of her. She doesn't have everything planned out - or most of it for that matter - but she does know where she needs to start. She just has to hope and pray that she's making the right choice.

The next morning, after Anakin and Obi-Wan return, they immediate go and speak with the Council. Padme takes this time to speak with the new Queen of Naboo, Neeyutnee. Worried for her safety, Neeyutnee insisted once more that she return to Naboo until the actual time to cast her vote against the push for an army. Padme still doesn't believe in war - and hates it with a passion - but right now she knows that they will need the Clone army in order to fight the Separatists.

"Please, Amidala," Neeyutnee says in her small holoform on Padme's desk in the early morning light, "return to Naboo for the time being. Send your vote in from Naboo, or through Representative Binks. There is no need to put your life on the line any longer."

Padme bows her head a bit. "I understand, Queen Neeyutnee, and I thank you for your concern, but I must be here to cast my vote." She folds her hands onto her lap. "But I agree, I need to leave Coruscant for a little while. It is not safe here for me for a while. I need to get away from my enemies for the time being."

Neeyutnee looks surprised by her words, rightfully assuming that Padme would probably fight her on this. Padme's back is ramrod straight as she sits in her office chair, staring at the Queen of Naboo showing that she wasn't lying. She intends to leave Coruscant, and she does.

"Truly?" Neyyutnee says, eyes wide. "I am happy to hear it."

"Thank you," Padme says, bowing her head a bit. "You needn't worry about me, my queen. I will have my Jedi guard with me the entire time."

"Well, I'll feel better once you make your way to Naboo," the young queen says, sounding relieved.

 

"Thank you for seeing us off," Padme says, tipping her head a bit as she bids farewell to the Jedi Master and the Captain of her guard. Anakin and her step off of the tram connected to the platform leading to the shuttle off of Coruscant. She reaches forward and hugs her captain, keeping the façade of friends and family saying goodbye for a trip. Once she's done with him, she hugs Obi-Wan, who seems surprised by the action, but accepts it gracefully. She pulls back after a moment, smiling at the older man before looking up at Anakin, who was bowing respectfully to his Master and friend. It feels like it's been forever since Padme last saw him so nice and respectful to Obi-Wan. It kind of nice to see him admitting Obi-Wan rather than silently scorning him with his eyes.

Padme likes Obi-Wan. She wants the two of them to be close always. She didn't want the two of them to be split apart. She doesn't want the battle on Mustafar to even be a possibility. Anakin and Obi-Wan should be sharing a bond that couldn't be broken by anything. It kills Padme that she's the reason that the two of them split apart. It's because of her that so many bad things happened.

She was going to do everything that she can to help. If she can stop even a fraction of the death and pain that she originally lived through, then she's will consider it a victory.

But this all has to be step by step. She has to deal with the now. No amount of worry over the future will better prepare it for it. She will just have to roll with the punches and try to stay on her toes. That's the only way she's going to make it through all of this. When she gets the chance, and it's hopefully soon, she will be able to speak with Master Yoda and have a more clear idea of what is going on around here and what to do in order to move forward.

Anakin and Padme sit down, side by side, on the transport, keeping their heads low. Thankfully, Padme is able to just lead him around. He's careful to stay right on her toes until they've sat down, Padme is at the window and Anakin is on the outside next to the isle.

"Alright Padme," Anakin says, turning to look at her, his voice quiet in case anyone was trying to listen in on their conversation. "So it should take about three days to reach Naboo."

Padme doesn't respond. She offers him a thin smile before turning to look out the window next to her.

 

"It's not him I'm worried about, but her."

Obi-Wan gives the Nabooian captain a side-ways glance. "What do you mean by that?"

The man smiles. "You have much to learn about the young Senator, Master Jedi. She slipped something into your pocket while you weren't paying attention, I think. Unless you're just waiting for the opportune moment to check it out." He raises a single, dark eyebrow.

Obi-Wan stares at him for a moment before reaching into his pocket and feeling a small slip of paper deep in his outer robes. He pulls it out and spins it around for a moment before breaking the fold and straightening it out. He sees the little scribbles on the page before he crinkles it up in his hand and looks around for a moment, thinking about what he read before forcing a thin smile toward the guard before tipping his head and walking away from the door of the tram to sit down and wait for it to start moving again to take them back toward the Temple.

Obi-Wan turns light blue eyes out the window across from him, crossing his arms over his chest. He looks down at the paper one last time before looking back up at the window, lost in thought. He had to wonder, what was the Senator up to?


	3. Shmi Skywalker

"What?" Anakin says, staring at the side of Padme's face. She is scanning the platforms, trying to locate the correct transport that will take them off world to their final destination. "Padme!"

Padme looks up at Anakin. "What?"

"What do you mean we aren't heading to Naboo?" Anakin asks, his voice elevated for a moment before it drops and he steps closer to her, easily able to over-shadow her with his sheer height. "Where are we going?"

"Tatooine," Padme says. R2-D2 makes a low humming noise by their feet.

Anakin stares at her, like he didn't expect that to be the answer. He blinks rapidly, looking around at the people walking about, pushing their way through the crowd with their luggage to try and get out of the small terminal before their transport leaves. He closes his eyes, letting the din of the terminal turn into background noise so that he can focus on the slightly older woman before him.

"What?" He asks, unable to really find the words. "Why are we going there? I thought we left the lion's den to go somewhere safe, not to jump into a nexu pit!" He looks exasperated.

Padme takes a slow breath. She can understand Anakin's confusion. For the most part, everyone but Anakin, Queen Neeyutnee and probably now Obi-Wan, knows that she had no intention of actually going on Naboo. Queen Neeyutnee was not happy to hear that she planned to go to Tatooine and tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant. Yes, she would like to go to Naboo, it was her home and she loved it and felt that she didn't get to see it enough before her life came to an end, but she knew she couldn't go this time.

Anakin needed Shmi. She was the first person - and woman - that he has ever loved. In a cruel, unforgiving world, she was gentle and loving to him. She was his mother and only ever wanted what was best for him. She said goodbye to him, probably thinking she would never see him again, because she believed that he would have a better life as a Jedi.

Shmi was Padme's mother-in-law and she never got to speak to Shmi about marrying Anakin. He was her baby, something wasn't right about ignoring what she knew must be coming. Anakin loved his mother and didn't really leave her by choice. He was so broken by the loss of his mother, sometimes, at night, Padme would hear him softly crying out to his mother. She would pretend to still be sleeping because he was so embarrassed, even years after her death, that he would still have horrible nightmares of that night.

He would leave the room to sit in the living room trying to calm himself down. He didn't like being seen as weak. He didn't like that his nightmares made up ninety percent of his time sleeping. Padme would go out to him once he's had time to clam down. He would have his back to her as he would watch the hover cars flying by the large windows. She would walk over to his side, leaning against the back of the couch, and lay her head on his shoulder and stare out the window with him, knowing he didn't want her to coddle him, he just wanted her to be there with him.

Sometimes he would be there for a few minutes, calming himself down and organizing his thoughts, other times it be almost an hour before he was ready to face his nightmares again. Regardless, she would stand by his side and wait with him. No matter what she was doing in the morning, nothing was more important than the moment she was going through with Anakin.

In her own way, she would do anything for him. Well, maybe not anything. She couldn't betray the Republic for him. She couldn't accept that he fell to the dark side. She couldn't accept that he would never be hers again. She was in so much shock by his betrayal, she contemplated dying. She couldn't live in a world without him in it. She couldn't go back to Coruscant knowing that Anakin would be there with Palpatine, surrounded by the ghosts of a bunch of dead jedi of all ages.

No, she couldn't do it. She couldn't be by his side with that. She had to do something to help him. To stop him from falling to the dark side.

Shmi Skywalker was where she needed to start. She was Anakin's mother. If anyone could keep him on the side of Light, it was her. Plus, Shmi Skywalker was a nice lady who didn't nothing to deserve the fate that she got. If Padme can somehow save her, then she will consider it a victory. Shmi was someone that just existed in the background for Anakin's life the last ten years. It's about time someone thought about her a little bit.

She will help anchor Anakin, Padme just knows it.

"Tatooine isn't so bad," she says thinly, not believing her own words for a second. She understands the sort of lawless wasteland that Tatooine is, not as well as Anakin does, but she still understands.

Anakin scoffs a bit, staring down at her incredulously. "Tatooine isn't so bad? Come on, let's just go to Naboo. You will be safe there. Tatooine-"

"-is where we are going," Padme says, rolling her thin shoulders back.

"The Council told us to go to Naboo until it's time to cast the vote," Anakin say, looking around a bit to make sure no one is listening in on them.

Padme frowns up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. He may be able to overshadow her with his height alone without even trying, but she knew that size meant nothing. Anakin wouldn't really fight her once she's made up her mind. He wants to keep her safe, he isn't going to leave her alone. Not only is it his mission, but he loves her. And she loves him.

"The Council is not in charge of me," Padme says flatly, keeping her eyes locked onto his. "I am going to Tatooine. I have already spoken to the Queen of Naboo and have notified Obi-Wan as well."

Anakin looks surprised by that. "You told Obi-Wan and not me? And Obi-Wan didn't tell me?" He looks around, suddenly flustered. "Why would you two do that? I am your guard. I need to know where we are going at all times. It's the only way I'll be able to keep you safe."

Padme feels a twinge of pain in her chest. "I am sorry but Obi-Wan wasn't informed until after we left, so don't be mad at him," she says, keeping her voice even. "It has already been decided, though. We are going to Tatooine. So, you can come with me and complete your mission, or you can stay here."

Anakin stares down at her, already looking tired. "Of course I'm going to come with you, Padme. I just... I need to be told these things, okay?" He runs his hand through the longer hair on the top of his shaved head. The anger in his voice is dissipated.

"I'm sorry, Anakin," Padme says, turning completely to look up into his eyes. "We need to get going. Besides, I figured you would like to see your mother." She looks away, feeling like she's manipulating him somehow. Well, she is, but she's doing it for his own good and she's feeling bad about it, though.

"My mother?" Anakin sounds surprised. He looks around again before taking her arm slowly and walking her toward the platform for Naboo. R2-D2 lets out a surprised chirp before following after them.

"Anakin?" Padme says, looking up at him confused. She isn't going to rip her arm away from his, knowing that it would give them too much attention. "What are you doing? I told you that we are going to Tatooine."

"If we take regular transport to Tatooine, it'll be a nightmare trying to get off the planet. If... if you still want to go to Tatooine once we get to Naboo, I won't stop you, but we need a ship from Naboo to be able to use. Public transport can't be trusted," he says, keeping his eyes forward as his jaw works.

"Why not?" Padme asks.

Anakin's smile is filled with chagrin. "You obviously haven't been to Tatooine a lot, have you? Or at least, you don't remember your first time there."

Padme could slap herself. "They don't accept Republic credits," she says, she couldn't believe she forgot. Anakin's smile has thinned out and isn't as upset as it was a moment before. She doesn't fight him any more, and obediently follows him onto the transport to Naboo. She noticed, though, that Anakin didn't let go of her hand until they finally sat down in the transport.

 

"There is perks to being a one time Queen, huh?" Anakin says after what feels like days of silence between them. Padme knew that Anakin was upset with her on a few different levels. She lied to him, withheld valuable information and kind of butted her way into his life without his permission, but he never strayed from her side for long. He was attentive and still looked after her longingly, but she knew that he was still a bit put off.

They made it to Naboo where Padme spoke with Neeyutnee about borrowing one of the ships, which was granted, before they took off immediately. Padme heard Anakin having a nightmare the previous night while she was piloting the ship and Anakin was getting a bit of sleep in the seat next to her. He jerked awake a few moments later and was in a very sour mood, trying to clear his mind. Padme didn't ask him, even though she wanted to.

"I suppose," Padme says slowly. "But I would never abuse my privilege for just anything."

Anakin makes a soft sound of agreement, watching the hyperspace lines pass by the windows. He turns and looks over at Padme, studying the side of her face for a moment. "Are we really going to Tatooine to see my mother?" Anakin asks, looking away again.

Padme looks at him. "Yes. Why?"

"Why?" he asks softly.

"You haven't seen her in a long time, am I right?" Padme asks, rhetorically, already knowing the answer. "Besides, my enemies would know that I would head back to Naboo and if they are tenacious enough, they may follow. We can get lost on Tatooine."

It's logical. Logical, in some cases, works for Anakin. It's something that he doesn't have to read too much in to.

There is a thick silence settling over them. Padme looks away again.

"My nightmare," Anakin says softly, "the one I had last night. Why didn't you ask about it?"

"Did you want me to?" Padme asks softly. She wasn't talking down to him or placating. She was asking because in some ways, she could be wrong and he wanted her to ask him what he dreamed of. Sometimes she just assumed what he wanted but never actually asked him.

Anakin shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. Obi-Wan said that I'm just letting my feelings get away with me. I'm focusing too much on what I shouldn't be and not enough on what I should be. I don't want him to be right. Not about this."

"What did Obi-Wan say?" Padme asks softly.

Anakin lets out a long winded sigh, staring out the window in front of him but he's seeing something far beyond that. "I've been dreaming about my mother. She's in pain. Something is hurting her, really bad..." he closes his eyes, creases forming between them as the images flash behind his eyelids.

Padme reaches over, in the small space in the cockpit, to rest her hand on his arm. It was such a natural reaction for her, something she had grown accustom to since they've been married that when she realized that she shouldn't have done that and starts to pull away, it's too late. Anakin opens his eyes and stares down at her hand before reaching up slowly and holding it in his right hand.

Padme couldn't let him go. She looks into his eyes and can't fight the overwhelming love she feels in her chest. He was back to her. He wasn't filled with hate and anger. He was Anakin Skywalker, not... whoever he became when he killed the Jedi and joined the dark side. He was the man that she loved.

"I keep seeing it," he says softly, squeezing her hand with his own tightly. "I keep seeing my mother being tortured, night after night." He shivers, trying to un-see the images burned into the backs of his eyelids. "Obi-Wan said that I just missed her, but I see the same things. I can't stop."

Padme leans over the arm of her seat a bit and gives his hand a tighter squeeze until he finally looks over at him. "We are going to see her, Anakin. You can see for yourself."

Anakin nods, his steely blue eyes worried and trusting. She's offering to believe him. To give him the chance to not only see his mother, whom he loves and hasn't seen in ten years, but to ease his mind and make sure that she's alright.

Padme knows the truth though. It was something that Obi-Wan wasn't aware of before, that he admitted not even realizing it to be true. Anakin had the ability of Force Perception. Anakin told her that usually it happened to those uniquely powerful in the Force, like he was, but with decades upon decades of training under their belt to be able to see the future through the Force. Anankin was seeing them through his dreams, which was unusual but not completely unheard of.

Anakin had so many mixed feelings about it. If Obi-Wan believed him before, would Shmi be alive then? If Obi-Wan knew about Force Perception, would Shmi be with him then? If Anakin was strong enough and showed signs earlier, would the Council have made note of such an ability sooner and Shmi lived? Anakin didn't blame anyone more than he blamed himself. He missed his mother and wished that she could have been with him.

Padme wasn't close with her parents, but that was kind of her own choice. Anakin didn't get the choice. He loved his mother and was taken away from her before he was even ready to be.

"Anakin," Padme says softly, wondering if she could ask about Force Perception. She knows that she shouldn't know about it, but if she asked about it in a roundabout way, perhaps it would help somehow. No, maybe now isn't the time. "I am sorry," she finally says, "about your nightmares, but I'm sure Obi-Wan is just looking out for you. If he knew that your mother was in real danger, I'm sure he would go to save her. Obi-Wan is a good man, isn't he?"

Anakin looks deep into her eyes, nodding slowly. "Yes. My master is a good man. I know he wouldn't betray me."

Padme is relieved beyond belief by his words. She takes his hand in both of hers, taking a moment to really look into his beautiful eyes, committing them to memory before saying, "Good. Never forget that Obi-Wan loves you. I don't have to spend ten years with the two of you to see it. It's clear as day. He loves you, Anakin, he would never betray you."

Anakin nods slowly, staring deep into her own, probably sensing she was holding something back, or that there was something deeper to her words, but he doesn't ask. Nor does he let her hand go. Padme wasn't ready to let go, either.

 

Watto was as pleasant the first time Padme saw him and the last time. She made sure to stay as far away as she dared, not wanting to stray from Anakin, but not wanting to stand too close to the repugnant Toydarian. Every time he would look at her, she would look away. Anakin, her angel, must have sensed her unease for he steps between them.

Padme steps closer to R2-D2 and kneels down, putting a hand on the top of him, looking around at the junkers around them, all eyeing his shiny frame.

"Stay close to us, R2," Padme says softly. R2-D2 beeps in compliance.

Thankfully Anakin knew where the Lars moisture farm was, or had a better idea of it. Padme, admittedly, didn't really remember exactly where it was. She might have been able to find her way there, but that is a strong might.

It's different from the last time, when they get there. C-3PO isn't outside checking on the moisture generators. They walk right up to the house and knock. It's no surprised that it's C-3PO who answers, looking between the two of them, curiously.

"Hello, welcome to the home of Cliegg Lars, I am C-"

"-3PO?" Anakin says, surprised. Padme closes her eyes and tries to hide her smile. It's so much like the first time they saw each other again, Padme couldn't help the relief she could feel bubbling in her chest.

C-3PO stares at Anakin for a moment, tilting one way, then the other, before he reals back a bit in surprise. "Master Ani? Is that you?"

Anakin smiles. "3PO, it's good to see you. Where is my mother?"

C-3PO reals back a bit more, looking around. "Ah? Um, come this way, Master Anakin. Perhaps you should speak to the master of the house, Master Lars." He waves his hand a bit and closes the door behind him as he walks over and descends the stairs down to the garage. Lars is down there, not in his wheelchair but standing on his own two feet, talking to another man. Padme doesn't recognize him, but he does look like a native of Tatooine. A friend of Lars's maybe?

"Master Lars," C-3PO says once both men turn to look at them. He gestures toward Anakin and Padme, "this is Master Anakin Skywalker. Lady Shmi's son."

"Anakin, yes, I know." He walks over to Anakin and offers his hand for Padme's guardian to take. Anakin hesitates for a moment before taking it. They shake for a moment before Anakin pulls his hand away. "As C-3PO said, I'm Cliegg Lars, this is my friend Boatara Neyu." The man nods a bit in greeting.

"Where is my mother?" Anakin asks, hiding his hands in the sleeves of his cloak.

"Almost two weeks ago," Lars says slowly, "she was taken by Tuscan Raider. We were gathering a search party to go out and get her. We've managed to rally about thirty men to come and assist." He stares at Anakin's mistrusting eyes. "I know what you're thinking. Yes, I did buy your mother off of Watta, but not to keep her as my slave, but to take her as my wife. I love her."

"I'm going with," Anakin says, eyes narrowed dangerously. Then, he jerks and looks over at Padme. "I... I mean..." It's obvious that he forgot that she was there.

Padme looks over at Cliegg. "My name is Padme, I'm a friend of Anakin's. I know we just met but I can't be the reason Anakin stays behind. Is it alright if I wait here for you to return?"

"Padme..." Anakin says slowly.

"Of course," Lars says. "My son, Owen, and his wife Beru, will remain here to watch over the farm. You are welcome to stay with them..." he offers lightly.

Padme bows her head respectfully. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for imposing on you."

"Padme," Anakin says, turning to look at Padme, like he's warring with himself, trying to find the right words. Finally, after almost a full minute of her watching his mouth opening and closing, trying to pull himself one way or another, he finally whispers, "I'm sorry."

Padme shakes her head, offering as strong of a look that she can muster. "She's your mother, Anakin. She needs you. I will be fine here." He looks broken by her words, torn between his mission and his mother. Padme is going to take the confliction away from him. "Go, Anakin. I will be fine. These men, while capable I'm sure, will have a much better chance of finding your mother and saving her with you at their side."

"I'm sorry," Anakin whispers again.

"Don't," Padme says. "Focus on your mother. She needs you."

 

"Padme," Beru says softly, a timid housewife by nature, "it gets so cold out here in the desert at night. Please come inside where it's warmer."

Owen is a bit of a stronger personality where she is more passive, but Padme kind of likes both of them. She didn't get to spend much time with them before she and Anakin left Tatooine, but the little time she did spend with them, was fine. They were simple folks just trying to make it in the lawless wasteland that is Tatooine. There was no back stabbing or harsh feelings. They were happy and wanted to remain that way, nothing more.

"Thank you," Padme says. Her dark eyes staring out over the vast dunes and fields of sand as far as the eye can see. "But," she says softly, thick coat that she brought from Coruscant expecting this, "I want to wait just a little bit longer."

"The sands are vast," Beru says softly, stopping next to her, "and it has only been two days. It may still be a little while, though."

Padme nods slowly, not pulling her eyes away from the blowing sand. "I know. I just hope they get back soon." She can feel Beru's eyes on the side of her face, but she doesn't look at her. It's cold out and her cheeks, nose, ears and hands hurt from it, but her hands are shaking from an entirely different reason. She was scared before, when Anakin was gone, but he was by himself, she knows how powerful he is, how smart, yet still she's scared. She's scared every time that he's away, always wondering if he was alright out there.

But this is a big moment. What if they don't find Shmi? What if they do and everything is somehow different and she's already gone? What if Anakin dies out there trying to save his mother's life? Lars originally said that thirty men went out to get her, found them, and fought them with only four of them managing to make it back alive. Was that going to be Anakin?

No, no. Those thirty men were simple farmers with no formal training. Anakin is a Jedi. Well, currently he's a padawan, but that doesn't matter. Anakin somehow managed to take them all out by himself, so with thirty other people no matter how untrained should be fine, right?

Padme rubs her hands together to create friction and warm them up. "Come on, Ani," she whispers, eyes still scanning the dunes and blowing sand. "Please be okay."

"Padme," Beru says, reaching out and touching her arm, "please, it's getting colder. We will be able to see them from the front room."

Padme sighs, running her hands up and down her arms, knowing that Beru was right. She lets out a long winded sigh, the cold air burning her lungs, before she turns and follows the tiny woman back to her shared home with her husband and father-in-law.

Padme didn't get a wink of sleep that night. She keeps looking out the window, hoping that they will somehow appear over the horizon. That they will appear and all come back safe and sound. She should have gone with. She was an idiot for merely staying behind she could have handled herself. She wasn't some damsel in distress that always needed looking after. She was capable. She was strong. She may not be a Jedi, but she was capable of helping out.

A part of her wanted to go with. She would be of some help to Anakin, somehow, she just knows it. But at the same time, in a moment like this, Anakin needs to have his sole focus on his mother. He can't be worrying about her.

Padme just has to cross her fingers and pray that the Force brings them all back safe and sound. Padme knows that the Force is real, but she doesn't usually put all of her stock into it, she believes that some of your luck and decisions are based on you, so she's going to believe in both the Force and Anakin. If anyone can come back from this, it's him. She just has to believe in him.

And she does.

The next evening as the sun starts to set, as has become her daily ritual, Padme is out at the edge of the Lars property, she stares out over the vast sea of golden waves, trying to locate anything out of place. Any sign that there is someone out there.

A yawn overcomes her. She hasn't slept much these last three nights, worrying about Anakin and the others. She squeezes her eyes shut and brings her hand up to cover her mouth so she doesn't get a mouthful of sand. When she's done, she drops her hand and opens her eyes. And there, appearing over the horizon is Anakin on his borrowed motorbike. She recognizes that reckless speeds, far ahead of all of the others.

At first she thought that Anakin was alone, then she saw what looks to be an arm around his waist.

Padme's heart rate picks up and she makes her way over to her ship, running inside and quickly ripping it apart to find the first aid kit that she knows is in there somewhere. She locates it and races back outside to see Anakin parking with Shmi right behind him. She's leaning heavily against his back and looks to be an absolute mess. Her hair is in disarray, her cloths are ripped, tattered and stained red, and her face is completely pale.

Padme rushes over to them. She drops the first aid kit, before reaching forward and grabbing Shmi's shoulders so that she can lean on Padme and Anakin can get off before she helps Shmi into Anakin's arms so that he can carry her inside. Padme picks up the first aid kit and quickly follows after him. A quick glance over her shoulder, she can see the rest of the men that went with Anakin making their way closer.

Naturally, Anakin didn't wait for anyone.

Owen opens the front door, moves to step out before he jumps out of the way for Anakin to push past him into the house. It's a flurry of movement but Padme, Beru and Owen manage to make Shmi a makeshift bed in the center of the floor that Anakin lowers her down onto. The entire time she is groaning softly in pain, seeming delirious.

Padme drops to her knees next to Shmi's head and sets to work. When she was a young girl, elected to become Queen of Naboo, she took the little bit of time between the end of the reign of the Queen before her and the start of her own, to sneak into the handmaiden lessons to see who her knew handmaidens would be and what they were like when they thought their Queen was not among them. In these lessons, Padme learned a great many things about etiquette and how to read the Queen's body language and a lot of things about medicine in case Padme ever needed it.

Through her life, she learned more in the medical field throughout her time during wartime. She's been caught up in enough dangerous situations to know that a little bit of medical training goes a long way. Padme is glad that she did dedicate as much time as she did to the medical field, because it certainly comes in handy now. She is no doctor, but she knows how to help.

Padme started out by taking a survey of Shmi's wounds. Raw rope burns on her wrists, lacerations all over her back that have since started healing and have started to ooze pus from infection. Her skin is weathered from exposure to the blowing sand and her feet are torn to shreds and burning with fever. She most likely dehydrated and starved. It's obvious to Padme that she has been tortured.

Padme starts on her wrists, demanding cold water and clean rags. From there she cleans Shmi's wrists with Beru while Anakin and Owen stands off in the background, watching. Beru disappears to grab ointment they had to try and help sooth her raw wrists. They move on to her feet next, cleaning them up carefully, which Shmi is much more sensitive to. She cries out in pain and tries to move her feet away from them but Anakin settles by her head and whispers to her, lightly caressing her cheeks to try and sooth her.

Shmi becomes mostly lucid, grabbing hold of Anakin's arm and crying softly. Her feet are so dirty with blood and sand that Padme isn't sure she'll be able to clean all of the cuts like they should. She need to see an actual doctor.

"Beru, Owen," Padme asks, looking between the two, "is there a doctor that you can bring here?"

Beru looks over at Owen, her eyebrows pulled together. Owen frowns deeply, shaking his head slowly. "Not many doctors do house calls. Most work for the huts and will bleed you dry."

Anakin looks over at Padme. "What's wrong?"

Padme shakes her head. "I'm not sure we will be able to give her feet the sort of attention that they need in order to clean it like it's needed. We can do the best we can, but I would feel better if a professional could take a look."

"I'm okay..." Shmi whisper, looking down at them with bleary eyes filled with tears.

Padme offers her a thin smile. "You are so strong, Shmi. But it's okay. Let us take care of you now."

With nothing else to do, Padme and Beru and one of the men that made it back with Lars, who happened to also have a bit of medical training, worked on her feet until the three of them were satisfied that they were as cleans as the could be, they moved on to her back. Before then, Cliegg got her a bit of water to drink and a bit of food to put into her belly before Padme gave her some pain medication.

She laid on her stomach with Anakin still by her head, whispering softly to her while Cliegg was holding her hand, kissing it lovingly. The rest of the men bid their farewell and left. Lars thanked them profusely but didn't leave Shmi's side. Padme's not sure if it's the pain medication or if Anakin was somehow soothing her pain with the Force, but while she did flinch at particularly tender spots, she didn't cry out like she did before. She just held onto Cliegg's hand as tightly as her waning strength would allow and stare into the eyes of her child, as if she couldn't believe he was actually there.

"Ani," she finally whispers as Padme, Beru and the man Padme learns was named Marty work on cleaning her back and tenderly bandaging it. With her free hand, she gently rubs his cheek. "My Ani? Is that you?"

Anakin smiles thinly. "I'm here, mom."

Shmi smiles softly, tiredly, but with so much love. She truly, deeply, loved Anakin like no one else could ever. He was her son and no matter what, she loved him more than anything else.

"I love you, Ani," Shmi says softly, tears sliding from the corner of her eyes and pile up on the side of her nose and into her hair. Her fingers lightly caress his cheeks more.

Anakin's lower lip quivers a bit as his eyes water. He blinks quickly, trying to send the tears away. His chin crinkles as he tries to control his emotions. He leans forward and kisses her forehead tenderly, blinking rapidly. The very real reality that Shmi could very well not be alive right now is drawing his shoulders down heavily. Padme's heart hasn't stop pounding since Anakin returned with Shmi. She can't believe that the older woman is alive. She's alive. Somehow. Padme did something different and now Shmi is alive. By coming here sooner and learning of Shmi's fate sooner. Anakin was able to save her before the last moments of her life.

Padme really did go back in time. Now she's changing the future. Should Shmi Skywalker live, Anakin Skywalker may as well.


	4. The Call

"Yes, thank you, Galdrina," Padme says. "I appreciate the help. I think you may have just saved a woman's life today. I am in your debt."

A blue image of an older woman with her hair pulled up tightly into a bun on the top of her head, bows a bit, modestly. "Please, Senator Amidala, think nothing of it. This is not only my job, but my pleasure. I suggest that once she is well enough to travel that she come and see me on Naboo, there I can give her proper medical treatment, first hand. I wish I could come out to you to make it easier..." the woman trails off.

Padme shakes her head. "You are fine, Galdrina. I understand why you can't. It's not your fault."

The older woman turns away for a moment, as if on cue, and starts to cough into her hand so heavily it shakes her entire body. She is turned away for a few moments longer, trying to get herself under control before she finally looks over at Padme again, looking exhausted. She folds her arms in front of her and says, softly, "I thank you for your kind words, Senator."

"Rest now, Galdrina," Padme says, kindly. "I will call again if I need anymore help."

Galdrina bows a bit. "Of course. Best of luck, my lady." Galdrina looks at something that Padme can't see and looks like she's going to say something more. She considers for a moment before looking back over at Padme. "My assistant may be finishing up sooner than he expected. Perhaps he will be able to stop by on his way back. But I will have to see."

Padme nods slowly, considering her words. "Thank you." Padme ends the call and closes her fingers around her holo-communicator. She looks around Shmi and Cliegg's room that Cliegg allowed her to use so that she could speak with Galdrina in private and not keep an exhausted Shmi awake.

Their room is relatively large in comparison to the rest of the houses and Anakin's old childhood home that she visited when they first met. It's simple and clean. There is a neat bed with two nightstands on either side. One has a lamp, a clock and a few small items that are too far away for her to be able to accurate make out, while the other one also has a lamp and a picture, old and worn, framed beautifully in a intricate steel frame with swirls and hearts decorating it. Padme already knew what it was a picture of before she got close.

It was a young Anakin. It had to of been taken not long before she arrived on Tatooine with her jedi guard and basically stole him away from his mother. He was smiling broadly in front of his rusty swoop bike. The one of the suns is shining into his eyes, giving him a squinted look, but he's showing off all of his pretty white teeth.

He was so cute and innocent. He knew nothing of the cruelty of the galaxy outside of Tatooine. He didn't understand then what kind of ugly galaxy they lived in without the right people looking out for it. He knew nothing of Jedi other than their splendors and righteousness. He didn't hear of their code and think about the hypocrisy of it all. He didn't hate the only man in his life who loved him whole-heartedly because of the machinations of an evil, evil man. He isn't so utterly terrified that he's going to lose everything that he is willing to betray everything he's every believed in, and everyone, because of it.

He lost his mother to death. Countless Clones died under his command. Ahsoka left the Order because she was disillusioned about the Order, much like he was. He felt like he lost Obi-Wan in a very emotional sense. He felt detached from his master because of Palpatines words planting doubts in his mind and his heart. In a way, Palpatine had killed Obi-Wan. At least to Anakin, he had.

Padme gently touches the photo, making sure not to smudge it, seeing as it is very tenderly cared for and loved. She turns away and looks around again to continue surveying the room.

There is a bookcase filled with books on one wall, then on the other, opposite wall is another, but this one is filled with a bunch of half-finished little electronic pieces set up proudly on the shelves. The little gadgets are crudely made with rusted parts that were carefully cared for so that they would last. Nothing was pretty, but Padme had to wonder if given time, if the inventor would be able to finish his childhood works. They were nothing overly impressive as far as Padme could tell in an aesthetic sense, but Shmi displays them like they are trophies.

Because she loved the inventor. Padme can understand that. He's a very difficult person both to love, and to not.

Padme heads for the door, lightly closing it behind herself as she walks back toward the living room that they've made into a make-shift bedroom for Shmi while she's resting. It's close to the only bathroom in the house. The kitchen and they can open the windows a bit and let in the cool night air to help pull her fever down. Padme stops in the doorway to see Beru lightly feeding a bit of bread and a few gulps of water to Shmi before letting her lay her head back down on the pillows and rest up some more.

Cliegg sits at her head, kissing her temple and pushing her hair back, whispering lovingly. Anakin holds her tiny, pale hand between both of his. Padme offers a little smile to them before walking over to where Beru is sitting on the couch next to Owen and sits on her other side.

"What did the doctor say?" Owen asks, looking around the quiet brunette to the Senator.

"She said that all we can really do now is wait for her to get stronger. Once she's strong enough, or her condition declines suddenly, we will be able to move her," Padme explains.

"To where?" Cliegg asks, looking over his shoulder at Padme.

"Naboo," Padme says. "It's my home."

Owen and Beru both share a look. Anakin looks up at her, grayish blue eyes mistrusting, warning her not to give away too much. Anakin doesn't know these people. He doesn't trust them. A part of him must still be under the impression that Lars bought his mother against her will and until she says otherwise, he's going to keep believing it. Padme doesn't see it that way, and maybe that's because her time on Tatooine happened to be luckily pleasant because of the Skywalker family, but she knows that it's a cesspool. Anakin knows it's a shitty place to live.

Now that Anakin is older and knows more about the way the galaxy works, he's not nearly as quick to trust as he once was. Especially when it comes to his mother. There is no way he's just going to take Cliegg at his word. Not until his mother confirms it.

Padme knows they are good people, having been able to spend some time with Beru and Owen while Anakin, Cliegg and the rest of the men were off to rescue Shmi both times. She believes that they are some of the very few, honest people on Tatooine. Padme thinks back to the other second time she was here. Cliegg had been so badly hurt trying to rescue her, Padme knew when he said that he loved her, that it was the truth. It was on his face and in his eyes. He loved her so much and believed that she was dead. Or worse.

She can understand Anakin's hesitance, though.

"I met Anakin and Shmi for the first time about ten years ago," Padme says, calculatedly. "We were stranded on Tatooine and needed help the Skywalkers took us in and even helped us get off of this planet and be able to ultimately return home. I am the Senator of Naboo and Anakin is acting as my body guard." Anakin shakes his head a bit, pale eyes flashing dangerously.

She locks with him for a moment, waiting until his metaphorical hackles lower a bit before she continues, "Having Anakin by my side again made me want to come back here. I wanted to see Miss Shmi again and I knew Anakin would to. They were both so kind to me when I needed them, it's only natural that I return the favor."

"You're a Senator..?" Beru says softly, her dark eyes wide. She looks over at Owen again. They must not have a lot of good politician around. Padme can, unfortunately, understand that.

"Yes," Padme says, "but I am here as a friend. Anything I can do to repay Anakin and Shmi's kindness, I will."

Anakin lowers his eyes a bit, lightly caressing his mother's hand, the corner of his mouth twitching a bit.

Now that everything is starting to slow down and all they can do is wait on Shmi and keep an eye on her, there is no need for them to be all hyper alert anymore. Beru, delicate as she can be in this lifestyle, looks worn and tired. She has been leaning on Owen since they both sat back onto the couch. She looks contemplative for a moment at Padme's words before her eyes droop closed.

Cliegg looks over at her before his eyes lock with Owen. "Go ahead and go to bed, Owen. Beru, too."

Owen looks hesitant, like he wanted to insist that they stay up a little bit longer, but one look at Beru and he knew that he couldn't at least deny that she needed to sleep. He slowly moves to stand up, waking Beru, before he pulls her to her feet and leads her deeper into the house where their room is to settle down for the night.

Padme leans against the arm of the couch, feeling her own eyes droop closed. It's been a good couple of days since she's gotten a good night sleep. She slept better on the ship from Naboo to Tatooine. She trusted Anakin so with it just being him, she was able to finally get a few hours of peaceful sleep before she took over so that he could sleep a bit, other than that, she's been very restless or simply unable to sleep.

She's exhausted.

At some point, Anakin must have convinced Cliegg that he needed to sleep as well, because when Padme opened her eyes again, Shmi is sleeping on her side with her back to Padme, and Anakin is slowly moving her into a better position. Instead of curled up against the arm of the couch, he's helping her spread out. She lowers onto her back and looks up at Anakin. It's dark out with only a bit of light from the dim candles provide any light.

Exhausted, Padme reaches out and lightly touches his face, feeling the smooth skin of his cheek. The dim candles cast long, flattering shadows across his young, handsome face, darkening his pretty eyes.

Anakin's right hand covers hers and he presses it tight against his cheek. "Rest a little bit longer," Anakin says softly, voice barely breaking the silence that has settled over them.

"When you get tired, let me know," Padme says, just as softly, her thumb rubbing at his cheekbone, feeling the smooth skin there. He doesn't seem ready to let her have her hand back just yet, and she misses these moments. Nearing Anakin's fall, the loving moments that they got to share with one another became so limited it feels like she hasn't been able to just gaze lovingly into his eyes or touch him leisurely in forever. She misses those moments more than anything else.

It's not when he's saving her life or she's saving his, or even when they are having sex. It's in these moments, just staring into one another's eyes, that she loved him the most. She felt the strongest pull in their connection with one another in those moments.

"I will," Anakin says softly, staring down at her, his eyes locked with hers.

Padme loves Anakin. She really does. When he turned his back on the Jedi, Padme felt this great pain in her chest, her heart, and her soul. She was so broken over his fall that she felt like she no longer had a place in this galaxy. She was even willing to turn her back on her own children. She never imagined how much Anakin had ahold of her. She loved him so much that his betrayal lead to her own betrayal of her children. Luke and Leia didn't deserve that. They had done nothing wrong, yet they were abandon by both their mother and their father. It was just so wrong.

Yet with Anakin in front of her once more, the love in her chest swells up again.

Padme brings her other hand up to cup his face, wanting nothing more than to stay in this moment with him. It's been too long since he was just this close to her, staring into her eyes and seeing her. She wanted nothing more than to protect him and be with him. She loved him so much and was honestly terrified losing him to Palpatine. She wasn't going to allow it to happen.

If she could save him, she would happily die in his place.

"I love you," Anakin whispers, so quietly that Padme had to wonder if she was hearing him whisper in her memories or if he actually said it aloud.

"What?" She whispers back, blinking a few times to force the sleepiness away to be able to focus on his face.

"Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved you," Anakin says. "You were all I ever thought about all of these years." His lips part a bit, like he's going to say something more, but then he stops. His steely blue eyes study her face for a moment before he says, so softly she has to strain her ears to hear him say, "Thank you for letting me come here. If you hadn't..."

"Your mom is alive," Padme says, running the pad of her thumbs across his high cheek bones. "Don't think about anything more right now."

Anakin closes his eyes, his long lashes casting thick shadows on his cheek bones and her fingers. "Thank you."

"I'm going to rest for a little bit longer," Padme says softly. "When you are tired, wake me, and I'll look after her, okay?"

Anakin nods, reaching down with his right hand and runs the side of his pointer finger along the length of her left cheek bone. It's in that moment that Padme realized that he wanted to kiss her. She wanted so badly for him to kiss her, to relish in this moment even more, but she smiles at him, and he smiles back, realizing that she noticed his desire. and knows why he's being rejected.

Shmi is still there and isn't out of the woods yet. They still had to look after her. Whatever was going on with them - and mostly in part what Padme wishes is going on with them - is going to have to wait until Shmi is doing better. For Anakin, she would wait forever. And the way she sees it, she owes Shmi, big time, offering her the courtesy of not sucking face with the child she hasn't seen in ten years while she's sick not three feet away is the least she can do.

Padme caresses his face one last time before pulling her hands back and rest them on her belly. Anakin pulls away and goes back to his mother's side. Padme adjusts herself on the couch a bit more, finding it very uncomfortable but she's too tired to even care, and slips back into slumber without much preamble. The dream wasn't very restful, but she was feeling a bit better when she finally woke up about dawn.

Shmi was sleeping peacefully where Padme last saw her earlier the night before, and Anakin was speaking with C-3PO about where to safely dispose of his mother's bloody bandages in the next room. He must have just changed them for her.

Padme sits up slowly and stretches, feeling a tightness in her back, neck and shoulders, probably from sleeping on such an uncomfortable couch all night. She rolls her shoulders a bit, trying to loosen them up before she stretches again, waiting for her vertebrae to all pop so that she can relax again and push herself to her feet. She reaches up and feels her hair, it's starting to come out of it's bun but it's not too bad. She spares a quick moment to straighten it up before walking over to Shmi to check on her. Her breathing is easier and her fever seems to be going down.

She's getting better already.

Padme smiles a bit, over-joyed that this was somehow going well before she heads into the small kitchen.

"I will dispose of these properly, Master Anakin," C-3PO says, taking the bag filled with soiled bandages. He turns to see Padme and jerks, happily. "Mistress Padme! Oh, good morning!"

Padme can't believe she actually missed C-3PO's chipper attitude all the time. No matter what, there was always a degree of joy in what he said and did. That, or he was terrified of something, but he was mostly positive and Padme always appreciates it.

Anakin turns to look at her and his face lights up, happily. "Morning," he says softly, the light from the suns filtering in from the window next to him shows off his beautifully tanned skin, a thousand watt smile and sparkling gray eyes.

"Good morning," she says softly, unable to get over how beautiful he looks. Anakin never seemed to really care how he looked, he grew up with so much more on his mind, but to Padme, he was absolutely beautiful.

"You should get some rest," Padme says, leaning against the doorway, over Anakin's shoulder, she can see Owen and Beru walking around outside, checking out the moisture vaporizers. She can hear the refresher going in the other room. Lars must be getting cleaned up. When Shmi is up and feeling a bit better, she's probably going to want to clean up a bit. That'll also make her feel better. The little bit of a sponge bath that Beru and Padme gave her to clean her wounds isn't enough to make her feel better, that much Padme can tell.

Anakin looks outside, squinting a bit at the heavy rays from the two suns. C-3PO looks between the two of them before jerking and making a slow turn toward the door.

"I should dispose of these. If you will excuse me," he says slowly, looking between the two of them. Padme offers a little smile while Anakin nods his dismissal. C-3PO nods with his whole upper body before heading outside.

"Thank you, 3PO," Anakin says quietly as the robot passes.

"You are most welcome, Master Anakin," C-3PO says, closing the door behind himself.

"She seems like she's starting to do better," Padme says, casting a slow look over her shoulder toward the living room as if he didn't know who she was referring to.

Anakin nods, looking into the living room as well. The way he turns with his back toward the window, Padme can see the dark circles under his eyes. He's been up too long too. He still appears to be very alert, but there is a bowing to his shoulders that belies his tiredness. Padme also didn't fail to notice that he's missing his dark cloak.

"Thank you again," Anakin says. "If you hadn't insisted that we came..."

Padme shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest as Anakin leans back against the sink behind him. "Don't think about that," she tells him. "Just try and get some sleep now. And no nightmares."

Anakin looks surprised, like he had somehow forgotten about his nightmares. "That's right," he says, eyebrows pulling together. "My dreams... they were true."

Padme looks around, wondering what she should say to that. She was kind of just making this up as she went along, but while she kind of had to play stupid a little bit, she could maybe offer up something to think about. "Is it the Force?"

Anakin looks confused by that. "What do you mean?"

Padme reaches up and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear that she missed when she redid her hair. She sighs, knowing that her hair is the last thing that she should be worrying about, and really it is, but it's almost like she wants to care a lot about it as an excuse to not have to explain herself. Not because she doesn't have an idea of what to say, but she's starting to get this weird feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

Anakin's eyebrows pull together. "Something is troubling you," he says, he pushes away from the sink to step closer.

She's not sure why she has this weird feeling, but she shakes it off for now. "You were right about your mother. And it came to you in dreams? Is there really any other way to explain it?"

Anakin stares at her, his eyes telling her that he wasn't blind and missed her ignoring his words in regard to her feelings. He looks like he's going to try and circle back to what could be bothering her, but then seemed to consider otherwise and think about her own words. He sucks in a chest full of air through his teeth before letting it out.

"I don't know. There is the ability to see things through the Force, and if one is powerful and trained enough, they can enter a meditative state and be able to see into the future..." His eyebrows pulling together. He takes a moment to really think about that, pale eyes lowering to the floor, unseeing. Padme doesn't say anything more, just stares at him, that feeling in the pit of her stomach growing. "Do you think..." Anakin says softly, eyebrows pulling together even tighter, "...that maybe I did see something through the Force?"

"I don't know," Padme lies softly. "That's something you can talk to Obi-Wan about, right?"

Anakin nods. "Yeah..." he says slowly, then he looks up at her and says, more firmly, "Yes." Padme smiles at that. She wants Obi-Wan's and Anakin's relationship to stay strong. She knows that she can't control the outlook that they have with one another, but whenever she was with them, nine out of ten times, they were good with one another. It's only when he comes back to Coruscant and is flustered and talks with Palpatine that the real deep rooted friction between them rubs raw each and every time.

Padme's not sure how she didn't notice it sooner. After she told Anakin about being pregnant, his anger toward both Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi, hit it's boiling point. She should have known though, throughout the entire war, every time Anakin returned to Coruscant and spoke with Palpatine he would always seem angry and confused. She never put the dots together. She can't believe it. She feels so completely blind for not seeing what was right in front of her.

A part of Padme had to wonder if Anakin kept trying to tell her something about this growing anger in him and she never paid attention to him. If she was so preoccupied with the next relief effort, or bill, that she wasn't offering him the attention he deserved. She loved him, and their time together was precious to her, but their time together wasn't always dedicated to just each other, regardless of what she wanted. How many times had he come home looking for her, only for her to be doing one thing or another, so he went to speak to Palpatine about his problems rather than her? How many poisonings could Padme have deterred if she had just put more things on hold for Anakin?

"I'm going to get a bit of sleep," Anakin says softly, looking exhausted. Padme forces her thoughts away and nods.

"Go on," she says. "I will stay with your mother. I'll wake you if I need you."

Anakin nods, walking past her into the living room. He stoops down next to the pillow fort that they build up around Shmi and kisses her cheek, gently rubbing her shoulder, being mindful of her wounded back before dropping himself onto the couch that Padme occupied not a half hour earlier. Whereas Padme fit pretty well on the couch, Anakin's long legs practically hung off the other side, but like Padme was earlier, he was obviously too tired to care.

Once Cliegg gets out of the refresher, he comes out to see Shmi and sits by her side for about an hour before he has to return to the farm but he insisted that if she woke up and was coherent, or if something happened to call him immediately. Beru came in not long after Cliegg went out and stayed with Padme as they looked after Shmi.

Padme and Beru talk about all sorts of random things, anything to keep them occupied. They would stop every once and awhile to wipe down Shmi's sweat, change her bandages on her feet, wrists and back, and give her food and water. She slept through pretty much the entire thing, except for when she eats and drinks. She doesn't have many lucid moments, especially with the fever still prevalent. Thankfully it seems to be going down, but they are still going to keep being careful with her.

Cliegg came in a few times to check on Shmi and Anakin was so exhausted that he didn't move once while he slept. Padme stayed with Shmi almost the whole time Anakin slept with the exception of once, when she got a call from Galdrina's assistant. He said that he would be willing to come to Naboo to see Shmi, but it would be at least a day or two before he got there. Padme was relieved that they wouldn't have to wait for Shmi to just get better and that someone would be able to come and see her. Someone professionally trained.

Padme would like to believe that she knew what she was doing, but would feel a lot better if someone who actually spent a great deal of time studying in the practice would be able to come to see Shmi.

It was late afternoon when Shmi finally woke up on her own and actually sat up.

"Please," Padme heard Beru say from the kitchen where she was putting their dishes from lunch into the sink, "don't move around too much, Shmi."

Padme scurries into the living room to see Shmi sitting up slowly. Beru has her hand on Shmi's shoulder, while Anakin had jolted awake and was watching her with his hands out-stretched toward her, about ready to grab her if she needed him to.

"I'm okay," Shmi says softly, patting Beru's cheek. Shmi rubs at her forehead for a moment, probably trying to think through the fever before looking over at Padme, as if seeing her for the first time. She squints for a moment, as if trying to put a name to her face. "Padme?"

Padme honestly couldn't believe it. Shmi actually remembered her? Someone she met once, ten years prior for just a few days and now ten years later, she was able to put her name to her face. Padme was fourteen at the time, she knew that she was pretty grown up, but she knew that she had changed some over the years. It was impressive that Shmi remembered her.

"Hello, Miss Shmi," Padme says softly. "How are you feeling?"

Shmi rubs at her forehead again. "I'm okay," she says, offering a tiny smile. "How are you, sweetheart?"

Padme laughs, walking over and kneeling down next to Beru. "I'm doing great now that you're awake," Padme says, the relief obvious in her voice. She feels like a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She looks over Shmi's shoulder to see Anakin with a faint smile on his face.

Shmi follows her eyes and stares at Anakin, her own gray eyes wide. They start to water and she holds her hand out to him. Anakin gets up and sits on the ground next to her. Shmi wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him as tightly as her frail body can. Anakin puts one hand on her shoulder and the other on her waist so that he doesn't irritate the wounds on her back.

The next two days go by in a flash. Everyone got to celebrate that Shmi was up and about. Beru and Padme helped Shmi into the refresher to hopefully clean her up better that Beru and Padme could. Padme made sure to check with Galdrina's assistant and said that it was fine so long as it was set at the lowest setting so to not hurt her.

They finally got her out of her dirty clothes and into fresh, clean ones and from there they moved forward slowly. They gave her a small plate of food to eat and water to drink and she finally went and settled herself in her bed. Lars spent a little bit of time along with her, but ultimately Anakin ended up in there with her, talking quietly. They had ten years to catch up on and Padme knew that their days together, for now, were limited. They would have to be leaving for Geonosis soon, so Padme let them have as much time as possible together.

She's not sure how long they actually spent talking, but Shmi seemed really tired even during her late lunch, early dinner. But Anakin stayed in there with her for a few hours before finally leaving so that Lars could be with her, and look after her for the night. Beru and Owen went to bed for the night while Anakin and Padme just sat on the couch, side by side, in silence. Padme's not sure when, but she fell asleep with her head on Anakin's shoulder. At some point during the night, she woke with Anakin's arm around her shoulder, leaning against her too.

Padme looks at the hand dangling in front of her face, it was his right hand. She took a moment to stare at the long pale digits, feeling this horrible sense of loss. She laces her fingers through his and snuggles closer to him. She wished that she could somehow prevent Anakin from losing his hand. She didn't want him to keep his hand because she had any sort of problem with his having a metal hand, but because of the shame he felt when he lost it. Like he was less of himself without his dominant hand.

Padme didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of. She thought he was amazingly impressive without his actual hand and couldn't understand really where the shame came in, but she didn't want him to feel it. He fought against a strong ex-Jedi like Count Dooku and survived! Padme thought that was an amazing feat, yet Anakin didn't feel the same.

Padme just didn't know how to help him. How could she stop him from losing his arm? She wasn't there for the fight against Dooku. She wasn't even a Jedi, she wouldn't be able to fight him even if she was there. She doesn't know what else she can do. She doesn't know how she can help him other than through her pull on the Senate.

Hopefully, that can be enough.

Galdrina's assistant, a handsome young man named Doreen, came the next day to check on Shmi. He gave her some medicine and taught her and Cliegg how to clean her wounds, and checked on them for her and tidied them up a bit more to his own satisfaction. He was a kind, smiley man who worked diligently and went beyond what Padme would have asked of him. He stayed for almost the entire day to care for Shmi, who seemed embarrassed that she was the center of attention, but it was obvious that after his treatment and medical care, she was already starting to feel better. Her fever broke almost immediately and she was able to walk around on her feet without much pain.

Everyone was thankful and he even left medical supplies behind for the Lars family. Antibiotics, ointment, blood supplement pills and something to help her sleep should she start having nightmares from her ordeal. Shmi was very modest and thankful, but Padme could see that the older woman didn't think she deserved such kindness. Her head was bowed and her cheeks were painted red the whole gave them his holo-communicator's number so that if anything happened, they would be able to get ahold of him.

Padme tried to remember if she ever really spoke to Galdrina's assistant. She had seen him in passing before, but because of her status, it was always Galdrina or one of the other top physicians on Naboo that she went to when there. That was the first time she got to actually speak with him. It's crazy how one choice can alter so many different people's lives. No matter how big or how small.

Padme sees Doreen off, eyes turned up toward the sky until his ship is gone. She's not sure how long she was out there but the heat of the two setting suns felt good and she was used to the coarseness of the sand against her revealed skin. Padme closes her eyes and lets her shoulders droop. So much is different. Shmi Skywalker is alive, and Doreen says that she's strong, she's already healing nicely. Padme can only hope that this good news keeps up.

"She loves him."

Padme jerks from her thoughts and looks over at Anakin, who managed to sneak up on her while she was day dreaming. "What?"

"My mother," Anakin says, staring out over the golden waves before them. "I asked her if he was good to her. Lars, I mean. She said he was. That she loved him."

"That's good," Padme says. "She deserves a nice man who will treat her well."

Anakin nods slowly. "I agree. I just... I worry about her. She's so kind, anyone could easily take advantage of her. I don't want her to get hurt."

Padme doesn't respond, figuring that he didn't need her to say anything. He has all the right to be worried about his mother, she just went through quite an ordeal and has had a very tough life, it's scary to think that she's finally happy and safe and that all of that could be taken away from her. Padme can understand why he would be so scared for her. Padme doesn't blame him.

"I think..." Anakin says slowly. "I think Lars is a good man. If my mother says so, I'll believe her, but I'm going to check in on her, just to be safe."

Padme nods slowly. "I bet she would much rather you come see her so that you can be together, rather than check in on her husband," Padme says airily, giving him a sideway glance.

Anakin's face scrunches up a bit but he doesn't deny her words. "Maybe," he concedes. They lapse into silence. Padme and Anakin just stand side by side, staring out over the endless dunes and sea of gold that stretches as far as the eye can see.

"What are you thinking about?" Padme asks, not pulling her eyes away from the scene before her.

Anakin lets out a low sigh. "How much I hate sand."

 

"Didn't you hear the council?" Anakin asks, leaning back against the pilot's chair. "They told us to stay here on Tatooine for the duration of the mission."

Padme turns around in the co-pilot sit to face Anakin, her finely manicured eyebrow perked upright. "The Jedi council does not order me around. You are more than welcome to stay here, Anakin, but I am going to help Obi-Wan."

Anakin stares down at her, an honest war within himself of whether or not he could obey his orders and stay on Tatooine where is mother is still healing, or uphold his mission and stay with Padme. He casts a long look over the moisture farm toward his mother's home and rolls his shoulder back. He nods and stands up.

"Alright," he says. "Obi-Wan needs us. Let's go."

"Your mother," Padme starts, wondering if that was part of the reason for his hesitance. He was very close to losing her a few days ago.

"-Is in good hands," Anakin says. "I trust that they will be able to look after her." He doesn't wait for her to ask anymore. He exits the ship and heads toward the house. Padme sets the coordinates into the ship's navi-computer before following him out to help him pack up their things. Padme doesn't mind lugging their suitcases into the ship while Anakin says goodbye to his mother. Padme says her own farewell. She shakes Cliegg's and Owen's hand but hugs Beru. She was able to spend more time with her this time around and actually found the girl quite pleasant and lovely to be around.

"Please take care of yourself," Shmi says, squeezing him tightly.

Anakin nods, burying his face in her shoulder. He takes a moment to kiss her cheek. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Ani," Shmi whispers back, her voice thick with emotion. It's like saying goodbye to him all over again. She doesn't want to let him go again, especially since his reasoning was, "my master needs our help" which implies danger. She's scared that he'll get hurt.

She kisses his cheek a handful of times, giving him one more strong squeeze before finally letting him go. She gives his face one more loving caress before turning to Padme and opening her arms for Padme to walk into. She does, somehow not surprised by the woman's openness.

"Please look after my Ani," Shmi whispers, her voice shaking in Padme's ear. She is starting to get stronger already, but she is still very weak and is probably going to be heading straight back to bed after this, if she can sleep through her worry. "Please." There is a tinge of desperation in her voice.

Padme hugs the dainty older woman back as hard as she dares. "I will. I promise."


	5. Geonosis

Geonosis was a little slice of hell that Padme wishes she could wipe from her memory completely. The first time she was there looking for Obi-Wan, that was a bunch of shit all piled up on top of itself, but this time feels like it's going to be a new verse, same as the first. Thankfully Anakin and Padme's run through the droid factory ended much the same as it had the first time. They came out of it in one piece, at least. Bruised up a bit, but otherwise alright.

On the carriage, about to enter into the arena, Padme looks up at Anakin, who's steely eyes are looking around as if trying to figure a way out of this. He must have felt her eyes on him, because he turns his own to her.

"Ani..." Padme says slowly. "Are you scared?"

Anakin shakes his head slightly, tiny ponytail at the back of his head waves back and forth a bit. "No. Are you scared?" He looks toward the opening leading out into the arena. "That this might be the end?"

"I am not scared to die," Padme says softly. "I'm scared for the future."

Anakin raises an eyebrow, looking back over at her. "What about the future is so scary?"

Padme smiles thinly. He had no idea what could be so scary about the future, which she could understand. There was a lot to be scared about, but dying wasn't one of those. At least not for Padme. She is terrified that Anakin's life is going to be ripped apart. That the Jedi are going to be destroyed. That not only is she going to lose her life, but in the process of doing so, she will lose Anakin and their children. She will be the core of the reason that so many people died. She's not vain enough to believe that the galaxy revolves around her, but she knows that she means so much to Anakin that her influence alone is enough to drive him over the edge, one way or the other.

"I'm scared that the pressure of the lie you and I would live together would be too much for us to handle," she says, letting out a long deep breath. As much as she wants to be with him, love him and hold him, she can't ignore what happened the first time. She didn't handle living with the lie effortlessly, either, but the lie crushed Anakin. He had so much more to lose than she did, and the pressure and his fear for her life and desire to keep their secret was enough to destroy him and encourage him to destroy everything he loves.

"I am willing to take that risk," Anakin says. "I love you, and if we make it out of this, I want to be with you." He turns his eyes toward her again, piercing her with his gaze. "I can live with the lie."

Padme takes a tiny step closer to Anakin, looking up into his eyes. "I want to be with you," she admits, because she can't be without him. She loves him so much that even though she wonders deeply in the back of her mind if everything would be better if she wasn't there to ruin his life or push him toward the Dark Side, but she can't seem to let him go. She selfishly can't let him be, and can only pray that she can keep him on the Light Side, or at least solidify his drive to remain with the Jedi.

"Then be with me," Anakin insists, leaning closer to her, his desire evident in his eyes. "When this is over, be with me."

Padme loved him. She simply loved him so much. His assuredness. His fire. His will. She loved it all. Shmi is alive, Padme already got the ball rolling on that, but she needs to follow up and make sure that Shmi recovers from her wounds. Padme knew that she was going to do everything she could to save Anakin because she loved him, but in that moment, his "be with me" was enough to make her fall in love with him all over again.

"When this is all over," Padme says softly, "marry me."

Anakin's eyes widen in surprise before leaning forward and kissing her hard. His large, calloused hands grab at her arms, just above the restraints around her wrists, to keep her in place. As if she would go anywhere. His kiss is hard and clumsy but when she didn't pull away, it turns soft. He's not experienced in kissing but he wants her so bad that he's willing to ignore it. Padme pulls her wrists away and brings them up to his face to help guide him. She can't pull her hands too far apart from one another, but she is able to cup his jawline a bit.

His answer is loud and clear.

The Geonosian growls at them before hopping into the front of the carriage and starts them moving. Padme and Anakin lurch a bit but don't pull apart, not wanting this moment to end just yet. They are grasping, desperately, at the seconds when they are together. Just as Padme remembered. But all good things must come to an end and as soon as they come out into the sunlight to the roaring crowd, they separate. Padme pulls her hands away and looks around with narrow, focused eyes. Anakin does the same, scanning the arena until his eyes find Obi-Wan already chained up, staring at the two of them like he would rip his hair out if he could.

Padme caught the look too and can't exactly blame him.

What was it that Anakin said when he realized that they were going to Tatooine instead of Naboo? Out of the lion's den and into the nexu pit? He has no idea.

Padme waits until the Geonosian begin moving back before she starts to work on the locks on her restraints. After years and years of getting restrained one way or another, she's much more skilled now at getting herself out of these situations than she was the first time she was here. Something she's not sure if she should be proud over or not. She kills the first lock in seconds before working on the other one, vaguely hearing the Geonosian leader talking in the background. Padme keeps her heart rate slow and relaxed, knowing that if she gets herself worked up she's never going to get the locks undone.

Click! She releases the other lock anchoring her to the large pillar.

Padme pulls away, her hands still linked together, but so long as she's no longer chained, she can work with this, and immediately runs over to Anakin.

"How did you..?" Anakin starts, but then shakes his head. "Never mind, later."

Padme smiles thinly in agreement before reaching up to work on his handcuffs, her eyes widening in surprise when even up on her tip-toes, she was just too short to be able to work the locks. Even with Anakin pulling down on the chain, it's just not enough for Padme to be able to reach.

"Get Obi-Wan," Anakin says, his breath washing against her face as she's pressed up close to him with no success in reaching his cuffs, "I'll figure a way out of this, myself."

"I'm sorry," Padme says, pulling away. She knew both Anakin and Obi-Wan could get out of this without her help, but it's kind of a nice feeling being able to do it. Er, well at least in Obi-Wan's case, hopefully.

Padme rushes over to Obi-Wan, hearing the cranking of the gates opening to release the monsters into the arena. She's running out of time.

"Relax, Senator," Obi-Wan says as soon as she reaches him.

"I am," Padme says firmly, glad that her words gave her the courage to actually do just that. She goes up onto her tip-toes which makes her just tall enough to be able to work on his locks. She's close to Obi-Wan, so close she can feel the heat of his body radiating off of him. She tilts her head to the side a bit, letting him look over her shoulder while she works on his cuffs.

Her feet start cramping in her shoes, but she ignores it letting out a relieved sigh when she managed to unlock the first one. She lowers flat onto her feet, heart pounding from forcing her blood up to her arms above her head. She wiggles her feet around a bit before going back up onto her tip-toes to work on the other lock.

"Hurry, Senator," Anakin says.

"Patience," Padme says, eyebrows pulling together in concentration.

"I hate to agree with Anakin," Obi-Wan says right in her ear, "but we are quickly running out of time."

Padme could hear the monsters approaching quickly from behind. Padme forces herself to ignore the sound, knowing that it'll get her no where if she kept listening to it. In the corner of her eye, she see's Obi-Wan's eyes rise higher and higher as something approaches and his relaxed muscles grow tense. She can hear the Acklay whining behind her, it's slow heavy footsteps are only overshadowed by the quick, heavier steps of the Reek heading for Anakin.

Padme takes a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the sound of the Acklay's whine and the Nexu's snarling to finally get the lock. It must have been just in time because as soon as he's free, Obi-Wan tackles her to the ground and rolls them out of the way.

Padme lets out a little, "oof" when Obi-Wan lands on top of her.

"Thank you for the help, Senator," Obi-Wan says, jumping to his feet. He holds out a hand for her to take. She does quickly and he pulls her to her feet than immediate pushes her behind him. Padme looks between the whining Acklay and the snarling Nexu charging at them. Obi-Wan is looking between the two of them, trying to figure out which one is going to attack first. He holds his hands out in front of him, legs spread wide, getting ready to move one way or the other depending on which one moves to strike first.

Padme takes a few steps back before waving her arms around above her head. "Hey! Over here!" She ducks down and picks up a rock and throws it at the Nexu, awkwardly with both hands. She manages to hit it in the foot with her poor shot, surprisingly. It snarls at her and starts charging. Padme doesn't spare another moment and begins sprinting as fast as she can toward one side of the arena.

She never realized just how difficult it is to run without being able to remove her hands from their position stuck together in front of her, with the sand being kicked up around her and the hot sun beating down on her. She may be wearing white, which is more than she can say for Anakin, and her clothes are thinner than obi-Wan and Anakin's jedi robes, but she's burning up already, she can only imagine how they feel.

One of the Geonosian guards turns toward her, holding out his staff threateningly, an angry snarl on his face. Padme heads right for him, narrowing her eyes dangerously. She was scared of a lot of things, a bug a third her weight and half her height was not one of them. It makes for a lunging strike toward her, that she bends her back awkwardly to avoid before she drops down onto her stomach just in time for the nexu to go flying over her head and into the Geonosian. Seeming pleased with it's new prey, it starts to maul him.

Padme scoops up it's spear and starts running back toward Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan who was ducking and dodging the Acklay's sharp legs and Anakin, who was holding his hand out toward the Reek, approaching it slowly while it's head was turned away, as if in pain somehow. Padme sends a frantic look over her shoulder, seeing the nexu charging after her again, it's prey a stain of blood on his large jaws.

Heart pounding, sweat on her face, neck and back, with hardly any traction in the sand is making an easy task like running a lot more difficult than it should be. Padme runs back toward the pillars, stopping harshly to hear a snarl right at her back. Padme knows it's a shock spear but also knows that it's not going to be strong enough to kill the nexu or really hurt it, so she spins around wielding it like a bat and hits the side of the nexu's head as hard as she can. It whines and falls to the sand, writhing in pain.

Either the shock spear is poorly made or Padme is somehow stronger than she thought, because the spear cracked when she struck the nexu's head. Padme looks at the broken spear, staring at the broken tip, before deciding that it can still be used and begins to run away again while the nexu is trying to get back onto it's feet. She's not surprised she pissed it off, but it manages to get back onto it's feet and races after her, faster than before.

Padme makes it to the pillar and looks around, wondering if she can just start climbing and get out of the way before it gets to her, but immediately knew that she wouldn't be able to get far before the natural climber reached her. Protecting her back by using the pillar, she holds the spear out in front of her. The nexu snarls at her, lowering it's chest toward the dirt a bit, stalking closer slowly before rearing back quickly and swiping it's massive claw against the spear, ripping it out of her hands.

Padme felt the burn in her palms as she's pulled forward before she throws herself back against the pillar, looking around for something else to defend herself with when the nexu rears back and leaps at her, massive jaws opening up and aimed right for her throat. Padme dives to the left, opposite side of where Obi-Wan and Anakin are battling their beasts. She feels the sharp nails of the nexu slide across her back before it slams into the pillar. Padme and the nexu both cry out in pain. Padme's back and the nexu's face.

Padme's mouth fills with sand as her chin is buried in the dirt. The pain in her back is searing and painfully reminiscent but she pushes past it. Padme scrambles away from the nexu, kicking up more sand, but at least putting some space between herself and the angry animal. Padme pushes herself to her feet, stumbling a bit and arching her back from the pain before back stepping and watching the nexu climbing to it's feet, looking dazed and in pain having smashed it's face into the pillar when it missed Padme.

It shakes it's head, slowly, trying to straighten it's mind out. Once it collects itself, it rears back and again, ready to jump once more when it gets smashed between the pillar and the reek being guided by Anakin.

"Ani!" Padme gasps both in surprise and relief. "Goodness, am I glad to see you!"

Anakin's smile an adorable mixture of sultry and cocky. "The feeling is mutual, my lady."

Padme rolls her shoulders back a bit, flinching at the dull throbbing at her middle to lower back before spotting Anakin reaching out to her with both of his restrained hands. The reek snarls a bit but turns it's head away. Padme moves over to him, lowering into a jumping position before pushing up as hard as she can. Anakin's hands lock around her own and he carefully pulls her up. It takes a moment of awkward maneuvering around him before she lowers behind him, feeling the reek snarling a bit beneath her, probably not liking her stepping on it's spine all willy nilly.

She grabs onto the back of his prominent hips before leaning forward, unable to stop herself, and kiss his cheek. She honestly couldn't have been able to do this without him. Well, she was doing this for him, but he just makes it seem like he's more a part of it than the reason for it. She may have messed up before when dealing with Anakin, but she was going to be a hundred times better. She was going to focus on him, make him feel like he doesn't need Palpatine, so that she can safely figure out a way to alert the Jedi about their mysterious Dark Lord without warning bells of their own going off about her.

Anakin shifts a bit at Padme's hands on his hips. He's not used to her touch, and the innocents of such a small action makes Padme smile. He actually shakes his head before they start moving. The Geonosian guards are flooding into the arena right as Mace Windu comes flying down into the arena, his long brown cloak tail on fire.

Faintly, she hears, "Kenobi!" somewhere to her far left before hearing, "Skywalker!" right in front of them. A Jedi tosses down a lightsaber to Anakin. He ignites it, cuts through his restraints before Padme reaches forward for him to finish off her own.

The battle goes much the same as it had before. Her and the Jedi fight off the Geonosians before the regular Battle Droids and the B2 Battle Droids come marching into the arena.

"This is impossible," Anakin growls, deflecting blaster bolts with his blue lightsaber.

"Just think of it as a diplomatic solution," Padme says, pressing close to his back to shoot around him while he deflects the shots coming at them.

Anakin scoffs, sending her a half glance before returning his attention in front of him, keeping them safe. "A diplomatic solution? Really? And what exactly would you call this kind of tactic? Blaster and lightsaber." A pause, then, "Aggressive negotiations?" He actually lets out an amused huff.

"Actually," Padme says, offering him a coy smile, "I was thinking exactly that." Anakin laughs, Adam's apple bobbing, but doesn't pull his eyes away from the flying blaster bolts.

Like before, Padme and the Jedi all get rounded up into the center of the arena, fighting for their lives. Padme made sure to stay close to Anakin, as he and Obi-Wan deflect the blaster bolts heading their way. Dooku calls for the pause to speak with Windu, and like before he proclaims that they will not be hostages, to which Dooku - seeming genuinely remorseful - bid that they would have to die.

Padme can recall speaking with Obi-Wan some time during the war about Dooku. That he was Qui-Gon Jin's master and was deeply upset by his one time Padawan's death, and blamed the Council for it. If they had taken Qui-Gon's words more seriously, he may be alive today. Padme can clearly recall Obi-Wan admitting, quietly, that when Qui-Gon died, he was filled with so many mixed emotions, that he wasn't sure how to handle them, but couldn't give them much focus because he had Anakin to deal with.

Anakin served as a good distraction from having to deal with his pain.

When Count Dooku first betrayed them, Obi-Wan admitted that he hated him. The way Obi-Wan saw it, even if Qui-Gon wasn't a shining example of a perfect Jedi, he still wanted Obi-Wan, and even his own master to obey the Code. Qui-Gon knew that the Code was important and while he was never a strict follower in it, he always wanted Obi-Wan to know how important it was. Obi-Wan would grow up understanding, and appreciating the Code, while having a master who could show him just how far he could go without losing himself.

The fact that Dooku betrayed the Order for Qui-Gon was like a great insult, as far as Obi-Wan was originally concerned. Qui-Gon may not have been a very good Jedi, but he still believed in what they stood for. The fact that his own master would start this crusade in his name was like spitting on Qui-Gon's memory. At least to Obi-Wan, it was.

But, being the level-headed, rational person that he was, Obi-Wan - once he had calmed down, at least - tried to see it from Dooku's point of view.

To Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon was like a father, someone he loved and admired and wanted to always make proud. But seeing it from Dooku's point of view, it was like looking at it backwards. Dooku loved Qui-Gon. Loved him like a son and to lose him all because of the negligence of the Council seemed like the ultimate betrayal - a world which he helped raise Qui-Gon in, made it feel like his lifestyle, his choices, are probably what ultimately lead to Qui-Gon's death.

Obi-Wan began to understand that during the course of the war, because he too had someone he loved deeply that was no longer his ward, but somehow would always be: Anakin. He loved Anakin like a brother, took care of him for almost thirteen years.

The pain of losing Anakin, especially to the Dark Side...

Padme can see the utter pain and destruction on Obi-Wan's face even now. His eyes were shimmering with tears from the pain in his heart that greatly outweighed the pain of his body. That somehow, it was all his fault that things turned out the way they did.

That look on his face when she turned away from Luke and Leia now makes complete sense. To Obi-Wan, they were the last living piece of Anakin. They were proof that he lived. But to Padme, they were a reminder of what he had done. How he had betrayed her and everyone else he loved and who loved him. So when Padme turned away from them, it must have felt like Obi-Wan had lost a little bit more of Anakin. Not to mention her, she was his friend too, but denouncing Anakin and her children... it had to of been so painful.

Poor Obi-Wan. He was a nice man who's spent his whole life doing good things for others, caring for them and wanting the best for them, only for his life to turn to shit in one fell swoop. Somehow, he was able to survive the loss of Qui-Gon - and that may be because he never actually got to come to terms with it - because he had Anakin to focus on, but losing Anakin, Padme, the rest of the Order, the Republic and his way of living since he was six months old, all in the span of a few days is too much for one person to handle.

Padme is just as much to blame for Obi-Wan's pain as anyone.

So she can believe in Dooku's remorse. He must have actually hated that it had come to this. A lot of the Jedi were his friends, and the fact that he had to turn on them because of the perceived wrong-doing of the Council must have brought him real pain.

"Good call, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan's voice pulls Padme from her thoughts. Her body had just moved, she wasn't really piloting it, for a moment there. She's got to be careful. She may know what's going to happen - to a degree - but that doesn't somehow make her immortal.

Padme shifts a little bit. "Anakin," she calls out to the tall Padawan in front of her.

Obi-Wan looks over at her, having seen her lips move, but she wasn't speaking very loud, it's no surprise with Anakin's back to her, he had no idea she spoke.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says, nodding to her.

Anakin spins around, looking down at her. "Senator?" He says, leaning closer. "What's wrong?"

She reaches out toward him with her right hand. Something is wrong. She's got this really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wants to say that it's the fact that she's about to fall, that this horrible feeling is in her gut, but somehow, she feels like that's not right.

The ship jerks and Padme's grip on the over-head handle vanishes and she starts falling back. She could hear the clone behind her let out a yelp of surprise as well as they both go flailing. Anakin launches forward, grabbing onto her arm right as the clone behind her grabs at her other arm. It happened so fast, one moment she's falling backward, the next she's being jerked on both sides. There is a crack in Padme's shoulder and she lets out a loud cry in surprise, but closes her hand around the clone's to stop him from falling.

It was a sudden, painful jerk in her arm. A crack and pop and Padme's vision goes white.

Obi-Wan is already grabbing at the clone by the time her vision returns to her, pulling him back inside by the time Padme settles from the pain shooting up and down her left arm. It was painful, and it surprised her, and she can barely think. Her face is buried in Anakin's chest, her right arm wrapped around his waist as her left arm lays limply at her side. Her entire body is shivering and if Anakin wasn't holding onto her, she's sure she would have fallen off the airship anyway.

"Ma'am," the clone says, "I... I am so sorry."

Padme shakes her head. "Are you okay?" She asks, her voice strained and pained, leaning away from Anakin to look at him through wet lashes.

"I'm alright," the clone says, bowing his head. "But I think your arm is dislocated."

Anakin hisses something at him that Padme didn't catch. She just can't believe this happened. Yes, she didn't fall, but the fall didn't hurt nearly this bad. A very, very painful warning that not every alteration to the series of events are going to be rewarded. Fate, and the Force, is not so kind, it seems. Sometimes, even an unfavorable outcome is better than the alternative.

What a painful warning, dislocating her arm is.

"Senator," Obi-Wan says, pulling her eyes away from the clone to him. He steps closer to her. "Do you mind?" He gestures toward her arm that she refuses to look at. That's not an image she wants burned into her memory.

"No," Padme says, turning away.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan says and she feels Anakin hold onto her tighter, putting a hand on the side of her head to keep her cheek pressed into his chest. "Now, Senator, I'm going to count. On three I'm going to put your arm back in it's socket, alright. You'll feel a pinch and that's it."

Padme nods. She'd figure with all of the times she's been hurt, that she'd be able to shrug this feeling off, but it really hurts. She keeps whispering nonsense under her breath, trying to ignore the shooting pain in her arm. She blinks rapidly, trying to stop crying too. She's given birth, that by far hurt more than this. Why can't she stop the tears?

Obi-Wan grabs at her arm and starts to raise it slowly, pausing a bit at her whimpers of pain to quietly apologize before her arm is nearly parallel to the bottom of the ship. "Alright, Senator, are you ready?"

"You can do this, Padme," Anakin whispers in her ear. "You got this."

"Yes," Padme says, her voice quivering as the pain is starting to subside a bit.

"Good," Obi-Wan says. "On three. One." He pushes her arm back into place. It's a snap - or a pop - a shot of pain up and down her arm, before the stabbing pain turns into a dull throbbing.

"Ow!" Padme gasps before she pulls away from Anakin to cradle her arm to her chest.

The clone grabs the first aid and pulls out a morphine shot, holding it out for her to take. Padme hesitates for a moment before grabbing the neckline of her white shirt and pulling it down a bit for him. He hands her a sanitary wipe to clean the skin and then turn to him a bit so that he can put the barrel of the shot to her skin and pull the trigger. The needle pierces her skin and gives her a mild injection. It starts to kick in right away and the throbbing starts to fade.

"When we get off, you need to take the airship somewhere safe so that a real doctor can take a look at that," Obi-Wan says.

Padme nods, mutely, knowing that's not going to happen. The morphine has kicked in, but she's going to have to do something to help Obi-Wan and Anakin. Maybe if they stopped Count Dooku from getting away here in the beginning...

"Sir," one of the pilots call out to them, "Count Dooku is heading toward that hanger. ETA: two minutes."

"What are you going to do..?" Padme asks, looking between Obi-Wan and Anakin. "How are you going to stop him?" She cradles her arm again, scared to move it, even though she's no longer in pain.

"I don't believe this is going to end without a fight," Obi-Wan says grimly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sadly, she didn't doubt that. She wished there was a different way, though. She wished that they could talk through it. She wished there was something she could say that would help them, but she wasn't sure what. Technically, she's not suppose to know about Qui-Gon and Count Dooku, so she can't even offer for Obi-Wan to try to appeal to Count Dooku's pain. She honestly didn't know what to do, other than that she simply had to do something.

Anakin and Obi-Wan jump off onto the platform and run off to go stop Dooku from taking off on his ship, when Padme and the Clone Trooper jumps off and the air ship takes off.

"Ma'am," the clone says, holding his blaster rifle securely in his hands, "I think it's wise to go and see a medic about your arm..."

Padme turns a determined, steely eyed expression his way. "I am going to see if I can do anything to help Obi-Wan and Anakin. If we can end this entire war a single moment sooner, then it will be a victory. The less people that are hurt by this war, the better." The clone, expressionless with his mask on, hesitates for a moment before nodding assuredly.

"Yes, ma'am," he says, rolling his shoulders back. "But what can we do against Jedi? Or, whatever he is."

Padme feels her shoulders droop a bit. "I don't know. I'll think of something." Whether he was convinced or not wasn't noted, because when she ran off down the hall after Anakin and Obi-Wan, he followed after without complaint.

Once they enter the hanger, Padme sees Anakin and Obi-Wan already engaging Count Dooku in a lightsaber battle. She pauses for a moment, mesmerized by the spinning blades of blue and red. Anakin and Obi-Wan are spinning and jumping around one another as if in perfect synchronicity. A beautiful and deadly dance. They were both honed and focused as if the three of them existed in this separate world that no one else could penetrate. She's not sure how long she was watching the twist and twirl of their blades, but the clone quietly nudges her ribs to pull her attention to him.

He nods toward no doubt Dooku's escape vessel. Padme steels herself and looks over at the Clone. "Do you mind if I borrow your blaster pistol?"

The clone nods and grabs his pistol off his back and offers it to her while still armed with his rifle. Padme makes for the ship, hearing the sounds of the two Jedi and the ex-Jedi clashing sabers behind her. She forces the sound from her mind. Dooku appeared to of been running away from Yoda, if he had no where to go, then maybe this war could be ended a lot quicker. Goodness, she hoped this wouldn't be another of those consequence moments.

"Ma'am," the clone says, putting a hand on her shoulder as she was about to enter the ramp leading into the ship. "I insist you let me take point."

That meant the lead, right? "What is your name, trooper?" Padme asks.

"Uh," the clone seems caught off guard by her question, "C45R-94PZ, ma'am..."

"And your real name?" Padme asks, smiling faintly, despite the situation.

The clone hesitates for a moment, looking around as if lost. Quietly, as if embarrassed, he says, "Clumsy, ma'am. My brothers call me Clumsy. As you saw earlier, I'm not exactly... stable. I, uh, am told I need better foot work."

Padme actually let out a little huff at that. "My life is in your hands, Clumsy, lead the way."

His shoulders roll back again, suddenly proud. "Yes, ma'am. Leave it to me."

The droid wasn't anything combative, simply a utility unit that was easily disposed of. Padme's first reaction was to either crash the ship or just blow it up, but a part of her had to wonder if this was one of Dooku's personal ships and if it was, did it hold a log of everywhere he's been, and possibly where it could be going. There is a good chance that they may be able to salvage something useful from navigation charts or navi-computer. Unfortunately, she's not technologically inclined enough to be able to do that herself - same with Clumsy - but Clumsy was able to program the ship to send it out of the garage and to a different area for them to get to again later.

Padme stood watch while he worked on it and by the time he was done, they both high tail it off the ship before it takes off with them still inside. As soon as the ship is flying off, Padme turns around to see how the battle is going only to feel her heart plummet into her feet. Obi-Wan is laying on his side, on the opposite side of the room clutching at a wound on his leg while Anakin's eyes flicker up toward her just in time for Dooku to slice his arm right off. Anakin's eyes widen in pain and Padme lets out a surprised scream, horrified by the image. Dooku looks over his shoulder at her a little before Force pushing Anakin toward Obi-Wan.

Padme's hands cover her mouth in horror, eyes widening. He looked... He looked like he was going to block the attack but his eyes raised up to meet her own and Dooku cut off his arm. It was her fault this time. She's the reason he lost his arm. She doubles over a bit, feeling like she's going to throw up. She was trying to stop it from happening because he hated it so much. She loved him regardless, but he was so understandably upset by his loss that she just wanted to help him and here she is, being the reason that he loses his hand this time.

She hears the clone cry out in surprise. Padme barely pulls her eyes away from Anakin's pained eyes to see Clumsy hit the wall hard to her left. His body hits the wall hard. His body slumps to the floor, letting out a little groan of pain before his head lowers to his chest as if passing out. Padme turns completely around to see a tall figure, easily eclipsing her smaller stature, dressed completely in a long black cloak that covers his entire body with a dark shroud that hides his entire face in darkness.

Padme blinks once in surprise, horrified tears sliding down her cheeks, before her muscles tense up so that she can move back, away from this strange figure, but he reaches out with lightning speed and grabs her around the throat, hoisting her up into the air. His hands are covered with thick black leather gloves that warm at the heat of her throat. Even with him looking up toward her face, his face is somehow still hidden in darkness.

There is a sharp sound. In his left hand ignites a lightsaber. One of bright red. Another Sith. And even being unable to look into his eyes, she knows without a doubt that it's not Palpatine.


	6. Mysterious Sith

Padme claws at the hand around her throat, not knowing what else to do. As the life is choked from her, her hearing starts to sharpen when her vision begins to fade, and faintly she can hear a childish giggle. It's definitely not her own, but she doesn't have the time to psychoanalyze where it was that she heard that sound before. If she didn't do something soon, she was going to die. Going out on a limb, Padme quickly brings her leg up and aims a shot right for the darkness of his face.

Thankfully, her legs are long enough to make contact with his face, so when she hits him, he drops her, turning away to guard his face. As if fate wasn't done punishing her, Padme lands on her left shoulder, letting out a long cry of pain. She clutches her shoulder and starts worm crawling away from the Sith behind her. Thankfully, because of the morphine, she already has in her system, the pain starts to ebb away quickly.

Her eyes rise and the first person she sees is Dooku. His thick, gray eyebrows are pulled together tightly, obviously unknowing of who this strange cloaked Sith is and smartly keeping his distance for the moment. The next person she sees is Obi-Wan, who, despite the pain in his arm and leg, is pushing himself to sit up. His mouth is moving, saying something she can't hear over the roar of her blood and the ringing of bells in her ears. The last person she sees is Anakin, his face is twisted in fear and pain, eyes wide. He's past the shock of losing his arm, and circles all the way back to angry.

Honestly, Padme could only blame herself for this moment. It didn't happen originally, but it's happening now. The only thing that's different is her. She knew roughly what was going to happen so they didn't spend all that time on Naboo and went straight to Tatooine to save Shmi Skywalker - and honestly, Padme didn't even know if Anakin and the men from Tatooine allowed the Sand People to live or not, she had forgotten to ask in the excitement of their return - and then to Geonosis where Padme is here now instead of gathering a bunch of troops, she's there with a single one and they blew up Dooku's escape.

Maybe he is always meant to escape and this is just fate's - or the Force's - way of giving him an out. Or, scarily enough, this person, who is definitely a man, has always been out there but watching from the shadows. And no body knew that he was there. He wasn't Palpatine. He wasn't Dooku. He wasn't any of the Sith - or Separatists - that she knew of.

Even though she is very much in a position that she doesn't want to be in, maybe this is a very scary and painful blessing in disguise. If he's always been there and has managed to evade the Republic and the Jedi the whole war, then maybe there is something else going on beneath the surface that was still brewing that none of them may have known about.

But, while that is great to discover, she still had to make it out of this alive long enough to start unweaving the tangled mess this new revelation has brought her. There actually might be a conspiracy hidden somewhere beneath the conspiracy that she already knows about. Now isn't that a brain buster.

Padme pushes to her feet, feeling like a fool. She has to somehow buy time. Somehow, at some point, Yoda shows up. She just has to find some way to stay alive long enough that he can show up and hopefully these two Sith aren't more than he can handle. Not twenty minutes before this, Padme was terrified knowing what was to come, but now she's starting to wonder if perhaps ignorance really was bliss. She knows that, by knowing, she will be able to save so many more people, but maybe by knowing and doing something about that knowledge, she's causing more pain and suffering. What would she do then?

"Padme!" Anakin yells behind her, but his voice sounds so far away, as she sways drunkenly from one foot to the other, her vision blackening with spots. Her throat is killing her and she can't seem to get enough air to her lungs. She stumbles back a few steps, casting a quick look over her shoulder to ensure that Dooku remained where she last saw him - he was. She looks away, back toward the strange new sith. He's tilting his head from one side to the other, face still shrouded in darkness. A small, childish snicker barely being heard by Padme even though she's only a few feet in front of him.

He's obviously not so in pain anymore. As if she was surprised.

Padme takes a quick, harsh step back, tripping over her own feet and landing on her butt and tailbone. The pain radiates up her spine, but she ignores it. She scrambles back a bit more before leaning forward, hands on the cold ground beneath her, ready to push her feet back under her when the hair on the back of her neck stands on end.

Padme's entire body freezes. This strange feeling holds her in place. A heavy weight settles on her shoulders, as all of the hairs over her body now stand on end and tingle with a sixth sense of fear that she has grown accustom to over the many years of being Queen and Senator, living life on the edge.

The sith, his red lightsaber pointed down toward the ground, humming softly, holds out his free hand toward her. His gloved fingers bent slightly. She could hear Anakin screaming her name from behind her, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from the man in front of her, more specifically, his hand outstretched toward her. She couldn't seem to pull her eyes away. A moment later, she knew why.

Lightning comes flying from his fingertips right toward her in jagged lines forming latticework in the air between them. It's like time slows down and the arcs of the lightning move toward her, crackling and shrieking in such a way she had never heard before. The tingling of her skin intensifies as the strands of hair floating around her head in the light pull toward the lightning. She knows Anakin is still screaming at her, she can't hear it over the roar of the lightning, but she somehow knew that he still was.

Then there is pain. Not the type of pain that she expected would come of being electrocuted alive by Force Lightning, though. It was a great deal of intense pain located on a single spot in the center of her forehead. It felt like a lightsaber was being shoved right into her brain. She can't imagine she's felt greater pain - but that's probably because she can't much imagine anything through it, let alone just think on her own in any regard.

Padme can feel the strain on her throat - is she screaming? - but she can't hear anything over the roar of the lightning. But through the pain, she can see the lightning that was once racing toward her is now arching around her without actually touching her. Through the flashing lights and spider web of streaks through the air, Padme can vaguely see some kind of bubble around her.

As quickly as the assault started, it ended, and as soon as it did, Padme lurches forward as the pain subsides enough to be a dull throb. Padme presses her face against the cold concrete ground for a moment, her head splitting beneath the throb. She grits her teeth, her throat aching more now than it did before. With wobbling arms beneath her, she pushes against the concrete in an effort to hold herself up and see that now there is a little green thing flying around the strange Sith.

It was Master Yoda.

Padme can feel the throbbing in her forehead radiate throughout her head and behind her eyes. Her throat hurts now on the outside and inside and her shoulder is starting to act up once more. The morphine shot much have started to wear off. Quickly. Much, much too quickly.

No more than crawling, Padme turns around on all fours, basically pulling herself along on her knees and elbows. Her chest is rubbing against the ground and she can feel the fabric of her shirt pulling every couple of seconds. She ignores, not sure that she can devote much thought into anything other than getting back to Anakin. Through the pain, she can see him. Not with her eyes, but with something else she doesn't know how to explain. Just like before, it's something she can sense, not to be easily understood.

"Anakin..." She whispers. Or at least she thinks she whispers. She can't really hear herself over the ringing in her ears. Slowly, but surely, her hearing is starting to return to her - which is a plus. Now she just has to get out of this situation and speak with Master Yoda about all of this. Especially what just happened with the Force Lightning. Whatever that was.

It feels like an eternity. An actual eternity before she feels Anakin's hand on her back. She doesn't care who's there, or who sees them. She practically crawls into Anakin's arms - er... arm - and wraps her arms around his neck. She's shaking both from fear and from the pain in her body and head. She presses her face into his shoulder, taking a few deep breaths to calm her erratic heart rate before she pulls away a bit to look over at the fight going on between Yoda, the strange Sith, and Count Dooku.

Yoda looks impressive, jumping between the two Sith without too much apparent effort. He's so tiny yet appears to pack a powerful punch. The three lightsabers all spinning around one another in a deadly dance, not so unlike the battle between Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan. Just now it's two Sith and one Jedi instead of the other way around.

Goodness she hopes that this isn't more than what Master Yoda can handle. She doesn't want to be the reason that something even more terrifying happens. All sorts of horrible images flash through her mind and Padme has to squeeze her eyes closed tightly to try to stop them from coming with more frequency. She can't think about it right now. She needs to send all positive thoughts Yoda's way, he's going to need it.

Obi-Wan slowly pushes himself up onto his feet, wobbling a bit because of his bad leg, but he looks like he's going to try and help Yoda.

"Obi-Wan!" Padme calls out, the alarm in her voice shocking her and the older man, who's eyes were locked onto the battle before him before her voice pulled them to her. "What are you going to do?"

Obi-Wan's eyebrows pulls together tightly. "I have to do something. Master Yoda needs help."

"But your arm and your leg..." Her voice is shaking. She clears her throat, trying to calm herself down. She has to think rationally. She has to think calmly.

"I'll help too," Anakin says, pulling away from Padme a bit.

"But your arm," Padme says, looking over at him. She can't believe she is actually having to convince two injured men that they may be more of a hindrance than a help. Then again, this is Anakin and Obi-Wan she's talking to, so maybe she's not so surprised. Or, at least, she shouldn't be. This is the type of behavior she has come to expect from them, Ahsoka and the Clones under their command.

And maybe a bit of herself as well.

"Obi-Wan is right," Anakin says, teeth gritted in pain. "Master Yoda needs help."

"Both of you are hurt," Padme rasps, forcing herself to her feet, despite the shaking of her knees. "I'll help Master Yoda."

"Padme, no," Anakin says, grabbing her wrist.

"Those are Sith," Obi-Wan says. "They aren't your regular, run-of-the-mill bad guys."

Padme glares at him, feeling the fire in her belly again. "I am not afraid. If I can do something to help Master Yoda, I will." As soon as the words left her lips, an idea comes to her. It's surprisingly difficult to pull her eyes away from the spinning lights of the two red and the one green lightsabers, but when she does, they lock onto Clumsy, still slouched against the wall he was pushed against by the Force.

Her entire body is hurting, but the adrenaline fills her system once more as she breaks into a sprint across the room toward Clumsy, practically ripping away from Anakin's hand. She gives the three battling Force Users a wide berth, not wanting to get cleaved by a stray swinging lightsaber. She reaches Clumsy in record time, dropping down to a knee next to him.

"Clumsy," Padme says quickly, giving Clumsy's shoulder a good, hard shake. "Clumsy, wake up! I need you!"

Clumsy groans through his helmet, shifting a bit, but he doesn't wake up just yet. Padme casts a quick glance over her shoulder to see the three Force Users still in a deadly dance of swinging blades of light, before she looks past them at Obi-Wan and Anakin, both watching her from the other side of the room. Relieved that she might still have a bit of time, she turns back toward Clumsy and shakes him really hard, hearing his armor pieces clanking together at the force of her shaking him.

"What? What?" Clumsy looks around, dazed. He swings his arms around a bit, trying to stop her from continuing her actions. She pulls away and he groans, rolling his shoulders back a bit before turning to look at her. "Ma'am?"

"Clumsy, you guys have communicators built into your helmets, right?"

Clumsy nods. "Yes m'am." He sits up, looking around behind her at the scene. "Oh... there's two of them now?"

"Yes," Padme says. "I need you to get into contact with one of your commanders, any of them, and get ahold of any of the Jedi Masters. It's urgent. Tell them that Master Yoda is engaging two Sith and needs immediate back up. Hurry!"

Clumsy nods, bringing his hand up to the side of his helmet. Padme stands up slowly, turning around to watch the spinning sabers. She feels so utterly useless. She has absolutely no power in situations like this. She can do something about droids and people - regular people - but Sith are a little different. She can fight blasters and physical attacks, but she can't fight something that she can't see. She can't fight against and invisible force and a blade that can cut through anything. Yeah, that's not really something that she can fight against.

Asking for another Jedi to come help seems like the only thing she can do right now. But this can't be her only option all the time. If there is more Sith out there than she thought, she is going to have to figure out something else to do. Calling for help all the time simply isn't going to cut it. Not for this girl.

"Someone is on their way," Clumsy says, standing up next to her, armed with his blaster rifle. Wait, where did Padme's pistol go? Her eyes flicker around the floor, landing on it where she was standing before the other Sith showed up. It's there. She must have dropped it when he picked her up. Shit. It's too far from her and too close to the two Sith battling the Jedi Master for her to just run over there and grab it. Like she would be able to do much with it anyway.

Padme grits her teeth as the pain in her throat, shoulder and head are starting to return in full force. "Come on," Padme says, casting a half-glance back at Clumsy before waving for him to follow her. Her and Clumsy run back over to Anakin and Obi-Wan. Padme drops down by Anakin while the Clone puts an arm around Obi-Wan to help hold him up.

"Clumsy called for help," Padme says, looking between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"Who's Clumsy?" Anakin asks, looking a bit out of it. Shock is probably start to set in. Padme rubs at his neck and shoulder a bit, trying to keep him focused.

"Um, I am, sir," the clone says.

"Forgive him," Obi-Wan says, not pulling his eyes away from the battle going on in front of them. "Anakin is in desperate need of medical attention."

The Clone bows his head a bit, but doesn't say anything. Anakin doesn't appear to have heard him, also focusing on the fight with glazed over gray eyes. Padme looks between Anakin and the lightsaber battle. She didn't know much about lightsabers other than the thing or two she picked up from Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, but she could tell that somehow the strange Sith was fighting unconventionally. He was twisting and twirling around the two of them in a manner that was strange to Padme.

But she couldn't really tell what it was. She hasn't seen a lot of lightsaber battles, but she has seen enough to kind of understand the flow of a lightsber battle. Maybe it's because there is different forms of fighting, that she's come to understand, but his movements are jarring, out of place. Now, looking at Dooku and Yoda, she can see why. They seem thrown off by his movements, proving her theory of him fighting oddly true.

She's not sure how long they stood there, watching the three battle, but she had to keep shaking Anakin to keep him awake and alert. She had to make a make-shift tourniquet for Anakin's arm to keep as much of the open air away from the cauterized end of his stump, hoping to stave off infection for as long as possible, using his belt and ripping apart his simple black vest.

"Master Fisto," Obi-Wan says, forcing Padme's eyes away from tightening Anakin's tourniquet toward the only viable opening to the garage to see Kit Fisto and Knight Secura come running into toward the two battling Sith and Jedi Master, both igniting their lightsabers.

Fisto went to Dooku while Secura went to the strange Sith, finally relieving the pressure on Yoda, who sags a bit. A group of clones come piling in, circling the battling Jedi and Sith, making their way over to Padme, Clumsy, Anakin and Obi-Wan, quickly gathering them up and rushing them out of the garage, despite Anakin and Obi-Wan's insistence to somehow stay and help. The clones don't stop until all of them are on an evac ship and flying away from the garage.

Padme sits by Anakin as the medic is looking over his wounds while the other is looking after Obi-Wan's.

"The medic should look after you too," Anakin says, gray eyes lulling over to her. "You were attacked by that Sith..."

Padme nods, running her fingers through his hair for a moment before pushing away to give room for the medic to get a better look at him. She watches as the medic gives him two shots on his arm and then one right into the stump that she has to look away for. She takes one of the few available seats, looking out the window in the door at the garage, praying that everyone is going to be alright. Yoda managed to hold the Sith off long enough for Master Fisto and Knight Secura to help him out. Hopefully that will be enough to stop Dooku and whomever this new, unknown Sith is.

"Senator," Obi-Wan's voice pulls her eyes away from the window to him. His shirt is off so that the medic has access to the saber wound on his arm, applying some kind of ointment to the warped, and charred skin. Obi-Wan's face is pulled taut in obvious pain, but appears to be trying to ignore it. His jaw works a bit, letting out a low hiss of pain, but keeps his eyes on her, trying to keep the pain in check.

"Yes..?" Padme says softly, sinking into the thin, uncomfortable seat as if it belonged in a five star hotel.

"How did you do that?" Obi-Wan asks. "How did you stop the lightning?"

Padme stares at him in confusion, not understanding what he was saying at first, then it comes to her. She blinks a few times, shaking her head a bit. "I... I don't know what that was. I thought... I thought Master Yoda had done something." To be honest, she wasn't sure what to think about what happened. It made sense to her that Yoda had to be the reason that the lightning arced away from her. He was there. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had just assumed that he was the one who did it.

Obi-Wan raises his eyebrows a bit. "I hadn't thought about that. Yes, I suppose Master Yoda could have been the one to do that. From my angle I couldn't really see, but it looked like the lightning was arcing away from you. I wasn't sure what I was seeing."

"Honestly," Padme says, pushing all if the loose strands of hair that managed to escape the bun on the back of her head away from her face, "I don't know what happened. I know what that Sith did, somewhat, but how it happened is really the part that alludes me. And who he is."

Obi-Wan nods slowly, looking over at the wound on his arm as it's finished being wrapped up in the crisp white gauze before pulling his shirt back up onto his shoulders and tying it closed. The medic says something to him about medication but Obi-Wan waved it away, opting to wait until they get off-world and to a hospital. He wants to be as alert as possible for as long as possible.

"Did you see any noticeable features or anything that could possible hint at who this person was or someway to identify them?" Obi-Wan rubs at his face and forehead roughly, looking exhausted.

Padme lets out a long, full sigh that makes her entire body slump against the stiff seat. "No. Nothing that I noticed, at least. It all happened so fast, and he didn't say anything. It's merely his height alone that makes me assume that he's a man, but he could be a woman for all I know." Padme pushes her hair out of her face more, seeing the strands sparkling in the harsh Geonosian sun.

Padme lets out another sigh, tucking all of the loose hair she can see behind her ears. She looks over at Anakin, to see him sleeping peacefully. His hand is wrapped up and the medic is talking into his communicator about, "emergency surgery" and that they were heading toward one of the Republic Warships to make their way back to Coruscant.

"I see," Obi-Wan says, looking down at the burn on his leg. He's going to have to go in for his own surgery because of the muscle and nerve damage that he suffered from his injuries. Padme doesn't even want to think about what she's going to need. Her injuries aren't nearly as bad as Anakin's but she knows there is damage to her throat and shoulder that she's going to have to have looked at. She doesn't even know what to expect with her head, which is still throbbing in pain. The rising altitude isn't helping either. Either way, she's probably going to be feeling this headache for a few days, at least.

Padme looks out the window of the ship, hoping that everything ends up okay with Master Yoda and Fisto, and Knight Secura against the two Sith. She knew that Dooku was formidable to say the least. He definitely wasn't someone to be underestimated, but this new Sith was a complete mystery. Padme still had to wonder if the new Sith has always been there, in the shadows, or if he was a byproduct of Padme's shift in the timeline. She's not sure which is scarier. But knowing her luck, somehow, at some point, she's going to find out.

 

"Is he going to be okay?" Padme asks, looking in on Anakin's pale face from outside his hospital room. He just got his artificial arm attacked and in a sealed room at the moment until the implant is deemed attached and safe. She remembered going through this the first time. Her heart gripped in fear and worry, wondering if the implant will take and he'll be alright. How he will cope with losing his arm. If he would even be able to function with it as he would have been with his original hand.

Anakin proved more resilient than she thought. Not only did he pick up everything that he could do before - writing, tinkering and lightsaber play - but he even excelled further. His desire to prove that his handicap wasn't going to control him and take away everything he worked so hard for drove him to push himself until he was better than before. Padme couldn't be more proud.

She knew he would be alright. She knew that he would depressed and hurt by the series of events, but she knew that he would find a way to move on. She would help him if he needed it. She wasn't going to leave him alone, if she could avoid it. She wasn't going to let Palpatine perverse his mind. She wasn't sure how yet, but she was going to make sure that Anakin spent as little time with him as humanly possible without alerting the Dark Lord that someone was on to him. Yes, as dangerous as it is if the Jedi suspected something fishy going on, it's nothing compared to drawing the ire and curious gaze of a Dark Lord. She's going to have to be very careful.

As for Padme, she's now wearing a skin colored shoulder brace under her shirt that holds her shoulder in place to keep it from overextending or having unneeded pressure placed on the joint while it healed. Thankfully it didn't really hinder her movements too much, just the stiff material made it hard to lift her arm too high. It was kind of like a shoulder pad on her injured left shoulder with band that wraps around her body to hold it together with a sleeve that goes to the middle of her upper arm. It feels strange, stiff and sore, but at least the pain is at a minimum.

"Who?" Obi-Wan says, lowering onto the seat next to her with a bit less grace than she's come to expect from the older Jedi. She can understand, he's still going through therapy for his leg muscles damaged by Count Dooku's attack. "Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks, as if that wasn't who they were both staring in at him from the hall outside his room. "Yes. He'll be fine. He's a fighter. He's not going to let this hold him down for long. I know it won't."

Padme smiles. If only Anakin could hear how Obi-Wan speaks about him. Anakin always felt, in the back of his mind, that Obi-Wan was secretly disappointed in him for one thing or another. If he just knew, just understood how proud Obi-Wan was of him, how much faith he had in Anakin, maybe the rift that formed between them never would have gotten so bad.

"I know he's strong," Padme says softly.

Obi-Wan hums quietly, but doesn't respond right away. The two sit in silence, just staring in at Anakin's sleeping face. He looks peaceful in the haze of drugs, but the lack of color in his normally beautiful sun kissed skin belies his trauma. He lost so much blood as they were scraping away the dead, burnt skin so that the metal hand wouldn't rub against the wounded skin and hurt him more. They had to seal up the nub, repair the dead nerve-endings and then attach the metal hand to his body so that it wouldn't fall off, which is more blood and pain. He's deserved a peaceful rest.

"Can I ask you something, Senator?" Obi-Wan asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Go ahead," Padme responds.

"Why did you go to Tatooine?"

Padme blinks in surprise, finally pulling her eyes away from Anakin to look at Obi-Wan, his clear blue eyes locked onto her own soft brown ones. "I went..." she considers lying. She went there because if her enemies were following her, they would get lost on the crazy, lawless wasteland that is the desert world of Tatooine, but she could see it in Obi-Wan's eyes. He wasn't angry. He was curious.

A part of Padme knew that the reason Obi-Wan never asked her last time why they were on Tatooine was because Anakin either told him the truth, or lied on her behalf. Padme genuinely liked Obi-Wan and hated all of the lies to him especially. He was so important to Anakin, and their secrets helped form the rift between the two brothers.

"I wanted Anakin to see his mother," Padme admits.

"The Jedi-" Obi-Wan starts, then stops, turning to look over at Anakin, as if something drew his attention away. Padme looks over at Anakin too. He hasn't moved in the slightest. Padme looks back at Obi-Wan to see his eyes still locked onto Anakin's room, but his mind is elsewhere, as if recalling something.

He blinks a few times before looking over at Padme and asking, softly, "And? How is she?"

Honestly, Padme was shocked. She expected to hear Obi-Wan chastise her about letting Anakin see his mother simply because it was forging a stronger bond with someone he wasn't suppose to. He was suppose to have left his mother behind when he left to become a Jedi. It seemed like he was about to do just that, but then... decided against it for some reason. And on top of that, for him to ask how she was, also shocked Padme. Obi-Wan never met her, but seemed genuinely curious of Anakin's mother's wellbeing.

Truly a kind and gentle man.

"She's okay," Padme says. "She was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders, but Anakin and local men managed to save her. I think she will be alright."

"Kidnapped?" Obi-Wan's eyes widen in worry. "Oh..." He looks down at the clear white floors as a doctor walks by, clipboard in hand, to a room down the hall.

"Anakin's nightmares," Padme says softly, "they were true. Is it something in the Force? Anakin didn't seem to know for sure."

Obi-Wan rubs at his forehead, eyebrows pulled tightly in confusion. "A form of Force Perception?" He mumbles, shaking his head. "I can't believe it. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, Anakin is anything but normal." Obi-Wan smiles thinly, before this strange look crosses his face, as if realizing something.

Worried, Padme leans closer to him. "Obi-Wan? What's wrong?"

Obi-Wan covers his face with his hands. "By the Force."

"What's wrong?" Padme asks again, even more worried.

"I told him it was nothing," Obi-Wan says flatly. "I told him to ignore it. He was just having nightmares. He missed his mother and that's why he was dreaming of her. I never thought..." He shakes his head slowly. "I almost killed his mother..."

"What?" Rips from Padme's throat before she could stop it. "What are you talking about? You weren't there! You weren't responsible for what happened to her."

"You don't understand," Obi-Wan says, looking over at her with this horrible expression of pain on his face. "I told Anakin to ignore his mother's suffering. He's never going to forgive me."

Padme shakes her head, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Obi-Wan, you can't be blamed for not knowing. It's not your fault. You are a good man, I know it. Had you known that Anakin's mother's life was in actual danger, I know you would have gone with him to help her. He'll understand. When he wakes up, just explain it to him. You have his back. If you thought for a moment what he was seeing was anything more than a dream, you would have done something."

"But I'm not sure that I would have," Obi-Wan says quietly, shaking his head slowly.

"Liar," Padme says gently, pulling his eyes over to her. "I know you, Obi-Wan. You definitely would have helped her. You are a good man, and Anakin really needs you. He needs to know that you definitely never intended for his mother, whom he loves so much, to get hurt. You just simply didn't know. That's not a crime and I'm sure Anakin will understand."

Obi-Wan lowers his eyes to the ground for a moment, letting out a long winded sigh before looking at her again. "How in the world did you get so good at pegging me, Senator?"

"I learned everything I needed to about you as a person the moment we met up again," Padme admits. "You told Anakin that your only purpose was to protect me, not find the one who was after my life, yet you were the one who jumped out the window... pursuing the person-"

"-who was after your life," Obi-Wan finishes, letting out a weak laugh. "Perhaps I'm not so hard to read after all."

Padme pats him on the shoulder a bit before pulling her hand away and leaning back in her chair. "You are complex in many ways, Obi-Wan, but I think I have your moral compass pegged."

Obi-Wan lets out a little laugh before something catches his eye down the hall. "Knight Secura?"

"Obi-Wan," Secura says, walking closer to them, looking as beautiful as ever. She looks like she just got in, still covered in dirt and dried sweat, but otherwise no worse for wear, which is a blessing. "The Masters wish to speak with you."

Obi-Wan nods, looking over at Padme. "Watch over him for me, would you? I'll be back." Padme nods too, watching him push himself to his feet and slowly limp after Knight Secura, who gives a short tip of her head in farewell.

 

Obi-Wan stops before the half circle of Masters, noting that those engaged in the battle on Geonosis; Fisto, Yoda and Windu, looking a little worse for wear but otherwise alright, before he holds himself in a strong stance and bowing as low as he can to the Masters.

"First off, Obi-Wan, we would like to ask of the status of your Padawan?" Master Deppa asks, folding her hands neatly on her lap.

"He's sleeping now. His arm replacement went well, I think," Obi-Wan says. "Only time will tell, though."

"Good," Deppa says.

"We need to skip to the chase, Obi-Wan," Windu says, leaning forward in his seat. "This business with two Sith now poses a big problem. Bigger than the fact that the Republic has been split now between those that remain in the Republic and an alarmaing amount of systems that wish to leave the Republic. It's collapsing quickly into a civil conflict."

"Count Dooku and the other Sith managed to escape," Kit Fisto says. "They were strong, but we believe that Dooku had no previous knowledge of the cloaked Sith he fought alongside today. If that is true, then that can mean only one thing."

Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow. "What? That there could be a second faction of Sith?" His tone had a bit of a joking lilt to it, but the deathly silence that follows his words makes the thin smile on his lips drop immediately. "What? How can that be? What makes you think there would be a second faction?"

"The Sith was obviously a Dark Lord," Fisto says. "His powers in the Force were immense, surpassing that of Dooku, but there was a form of disconnect between them. This was their first meeting. They were working together simply because it was against Jedi, they probably would be quick to turn on each other once they fled, if they hadn't gone different ways."

Obi-Wan rubs at his forehead a bit, shifting weight off his bad leg. "How are you so sure, Master?"

Yoda holds something out toward Obi-Wan in the palm of his small hand, still having not spoken a word the entire time Obi-Wan was in the council room. Normally, Obi-Wan would simply walk over there and take it from him, but the muscles of his leg is sore and hurting him, so he picks it up with the Force and brings it over to himself, looking down at what appears to be a pendant of sorts.

The pendent was diamond shaped, about the size of his palm, with some kind of bird with it's wings outstretched wide and an angry look on it's face and a crown over it's head. There is strange symbols on either side of the bird that mean nothing to Obi-Wan, squiggly lines that isn't a language he recognizes.

Obi-Wan looks up at Yoda, confused. "What is this, Master? I've never seen it before."

"Flip it around, Master Kenobi," Yoda says.

Obi-Wan spins the pendent around in his fingers, eyes flickering down to see writing on the back only for them to shoot back up toward Yoda. Had Master Yoda called him Master? No one else spoke, or corrected the eldest of them. Maybe Obi-Wan was just hearing things. He looks back down at the pendent, seeing a small inscription on the back.

"Revanites Rise.

He will return."


	7. Naboo

"Begin!"

Two ten year olds dressed up in protective helmets, sleeveless black shirts and black pants, while barefoot, charge at one another. Armed with simple wooden bow staffs they swipe at one another. The loud crack of the wood against wood. They are both tanned, the slightly shorter one being a bit darker than the slightly taller one.

Four guards stand around the open sand arena, unmoving. They are armored and covered their faces with old ceremonial masks. The only other person was the man who began the match, dressed in dark robes with a bold head. He takes a few steps back, folding his hands behind his back and watching the two ten year olds duke it out against the other.

The kids movements are fast, and honed, from years of practice in the moves and in many times training against one another. A familiarity in the movement of the others shows in their strikes against each other. They know the other's weak points and try hard to exploit them in order to get the upper hand. Their thin, childish arms hold a touch of muscles from years and years of working hard and building their strength, and stamina. They are in near perfect sync with one another, moving around one another as if dancing.

"Don't play around," the cloaked man warns, a lilt of a warning in his voice. "Fight with passion, you two."

No one moves, or speaks when the taller one swipes the shorter one, cracking the wood across their head, dropping them to the floor.

The tall one steps closer, ready to strike once more, when the smaller one juts out their foot toward the other, kicking them right in the knee and dropping them too.

The tall one yelps, a more feminine sound, despite their young age. The girl rolls away before the smaller one can jump to their feet and deliver another blow. They slowly spin around one another. The girl spares a glance to her bow staff, ensuring that it is still in working condition. It is, it's not even bent. She hit the other hard, just not hard enough.

She spins the staff around her for a moment, gaging the other across from her. Their steps are slow, purposeful, watching her every move carefully, as she watches them. Her heart is racing, threatening to beat out of her chest, and the blood is roaring. She charges at him, swiping toward his head, he ducks, then juts her foot out to trip him. He fall onto his back and she wastes no time dropping down onto his stomach and aiming her bow staff at their throat.

The arena falls silent. No one moves. No one speaks. They stay completely still until the struggling body beneath the girl finally yields under her weight before the man in the black robes calls the match.

"You are victorious, Padme."

"Yes, sir," Ten-year-old Padme says easily, standing up and holding her hand out for the smaller body to take. They do and she pulls them to their feet. "You're going to have to try better than that if you want to beat me." Padme says, pulling her helmet off. Her mid-back length curly hair, falls from her helmet and she offers a small, thin smile with a touch of mirth.

The other person huff, reaching up to pull off their own helmet.

 

Padme looks over at Anakin, who's leaning back in his seat, face pale and eyes drooping. He looks so worn out that makes Padme feel so bad. Especially since the reason he's exhausted is because of her. She did it to him this time. It is because of her that he lost his arm this time.

Padme rubs her face with her hands, not caring if she messed up what little make-up Dorme managed to slap onto her face before she slipped away from the pretty handmaiden. It's no surprise that she wouldn't be interested in dolling herself up for a trip back to Naboo, but she also knew that she couldn't survive without a little bit on her face. She hasn't slept in days, kept up at night worrying over Anakin and thinking about what she had done. Sure, she may have uncovered a plot beneath a plot, but that doesn't help ease the guilt.

"Anakin, get some rest," Padme says.

Anakin, who closed his eyes to blink, hasn't opened them in two minutes. Padme knows, she's been watching him. She's not sure what the difference this time was, but it seems he's a lot more physically drained than he was the first time. Then again, maybe it's been a long time and her memory of this moment the first time around is skewed.

There is a beep from Padme's communicator. She pauses a moment to listen to the short message from Galdrina, alerting Padme that they would be ready for their arrival to begin physical therapy for Anakin. Padme sends back a quick reply, thanking Galdrina for all of her hard work.

Padme turns her chair toward Anakin and stands up, reaching across the counsel and pressing the co-pilot control before looking back down at Anakin. He hasn't move, even when she leaned over him. He's definitely out of it. Padme leans down and kisses Anakin's cheek. He doesn't move, or react to the action, belying how deep in slumber that he is.

Now that she's looking at him, maybe he was like this the first time around. Tired and still in a bit of pain - recovering is a good word for it. Maybe it was because her sole focus was when they got married, she forgot about the moments leading up to it on the return to Naboo. In some ways, Padme couldn't believe that Obi-Wan would have allowed Anakin to come back with her.

But then again, it did actually make sense.

Obi-Wan knew about Padme and Anakin loving each other. He had to. He basically said that he did. He told her, to her face, how much Anakin loved her. Showing her how much he loved Anakin. He knew their love for each other was wrong in the eyes of the Jedi, yet he was telling her anyway. He basically told her that he was okay with their relationship because it made Anakin happy. Obi-Wan was a true friend.

If only Anakin could see how much Obi-Wan truly loved him. Padme can see it, easily, and it breaks her heart that Anakin wasn't able to. Maybe this time around really can be different. Maybe they can somehow be happy. All three of them. Them, and Ahsoka. She hasn't forgot about the little Togruta that Anakin loved like a little sister. His Padawan.

Padme hasn't forgotten about her. She still misses Ahsoka every day and eagerly awaits the moment they meet again. Her, and Duchess Satine. Thinking about Satine makes Padme's chest hurt. She can't think about her any more right now. She has to focus on the person right in front of her. Ahsoka and Satine will come with time. Now she has to focus on Anakin.

Padme lowers herself back into her seat, surprised that her hovering did set off Anakin's danger sense. At least she wasn't skewered by a lightstaber for being lost in her thoughts. She looks over at him again, feeling so bad once more. She wished that she could do something that could make him feel better. She knows that he's had a crush on her for years and them getting married would make him happy, but it's just something that they knew about. No one else knew, because no one else could really be trusted. In the entire galaxy, there was only a handful of people - and things like C-3PO and R2-D2 - that knew about their union. That's it.

Naboo is special. They are part of the Republic, and loyal to a fault, maybe, but they were one of a handful of planets that have a closed system that keeps the archives of Naboo off the holonet. There is no access to it anywhere but special counsels on the planets surface. That was how Padme was able to marry Anakin without it setting off any red flags. To Nubian systems, Anakin Skywalker is merely an off-worlder. The Jedi aren't categorized in the system. Merely a cliff-note in their files.

As much as she is happy to have him as her husband, and her being his wife, she knew that it ultimately made no difference to him. So long as she was his and only his, that was what mattered to him. And her too, but she was much more traditional than he is, which is to be expected.

Galdrina sends her another reply. Everything was ready.

But there is something that Padme knew would make Anakin really happy. Thankfully, happiness for Anakin is long overdo.

 

"Ani?"

Anakin jerks awake at the sound of her voice, looking around dazed and confused from having been awakened from a deep slumber. He rubs at his face roughly, trying to wake himself up. Once he gets a bit of a better hold of himself, he looks up at Padme with large, wild gray eyes. He looks out the front window, getting the pretty view of Thead from the space port set aside specifically for the Nubian senator.

"Are we..?"

"We are in Thead," Padme says, offering him a little smile. "Welcome back."

Anakin rubs at his face roughly, once more. "I... I think I might have dozed off. I'm sorry." He rolls his shoulders back and lets out along sigh.

"We have both had a long last few days," Padme says, standing up from her seat. "I think we both deserve a bit of rest and relaxation. Thankfully Obi-Wan is giving us a bit of time for me to get my affairs in order before you are expected back on Coruscant." To leave for war, she doesn't say. She doesn't want to say it. Even though she trusts Anakin and knows how strong he is, she is still scared that an accident will take him away from her. She knows of the possibility of the darkness to come should he live, but she believes that he can be saved. She has the utmost faith in him.

"Yeah," Anakin says. "Who would have thought that Naboo would have the best physical therapist?" He smiles coyly at her, a touch of actual mirth back on his face and in his eyes. It's a relief to see.

"Galdrina is very gifted in what she does," Padme says, pulling at a loose thread on her dress. She doesn't remember that being there. She looks away from it, that isn't something important.

"Well, thanks for getting me in to see her," Anakin says, smiling a bit more gently.

Padme nods, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. Cracks roll up her spine, legs and hips. Still sitting, Anakin stretches his legs out in front of him before standing up next to her.

"Come," Padme says and gives a little wave of her hand for him to follow. Padme and Anakin exit her ship to see Captain Panaka and members of the Royal Guard all waiting them in a neat line.

"Senator," Panaka says, bowing low at the waist once Padme and Anakin step off the exit ramp of the ship. Padme tips her head to her one-time guard, fondly.

"Panaka, it's a pleasure to see you again. How are you?" Padme asks cordially.

Panaka smiles smoothly. "Good, my lady. I heard from Gregar that you have been through quite an ordeal since last we saw you here."

"Life is as exciting as always," Padme says, trying to keep her voice airy and light. "I'm sorry I missed you last time I was here, it was so quick I didn't have the time to pop in and say hello."

"Take a ship and run, Senator, you never change," Panaka says with a touch of affection.

Padme smiles at her long time guard and friend. He really does know her well. "Well, you know what they say about old dogs?"

Panaka huffs, shaking his head. "You are barely in your twenties, my lady. I would hardly consider you an 'old dog'."

Oh, that's right. Padme felt almost thirty, but in reality she had just turned twenty-four. Mentally, she was that of a twenty-seven year old, but now she's trapped in a younger version of herself. That's right. She's still trying to get all of this in order.

"Perhaps," Padme says, not knowing how to argue the point even if she wanted to, "but I am very set in my ways. I simply can't stand by and let someone get hurt if I can somehow help them. It's just not how I'm programmed."

Panaka smiles. "I know. You haven't changed much since your time as Queen. You have always been about helping the needy and the weak. Especially children."

"If we cannot protect our children, then we have truly failed everyone," Padme says, keeping her voice strong and even. She rolls her shoulders back and look up into his dark eyes.

Panaka nods, suddenly looking a little sad, as if remembering something that makes him upset. "I understand, my lady." He shakes his head, pushing the troubling thoughts away. "We cannot change the past, unfortunately." Padme begged to differ. His eyes finally slide past her to Anakin, standing quietly and patiently at her flank. "And this is..?"

"Oh," Padme says, making a sweeping gesture toward her Jedi guard. "Forgive me. Panaka, this is Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan. He was the little boy who helped save Naboo during the Trade Federation's occupation. Remember?"

Panaka's eyebrows shoot toward his hairline, stepping forward and offering his hand for Anakin to take. "That's right. Ten years, right? You're all grown up, Skywalker."

Anakin takes his hand slowly and gives it a little shake before hiding his metal hand in the long sleeves of his robes. Panaka catches the sight. He opens his mouth in surprise, and probably questions before he realizes better of it and gives him a little nod.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Captain Panaka," Anakin says, keeping his voice smooth. He appears grateful that Panaka isn't going to mention his hand. It's still a sensitive subject for him. There is a strange moment of silence between the three of them were Padme feels the gentle Noobian breeze pulls at the loose strands of hair floating around her head.

"Thank you for coming out to greet us," Padme says. "Is the Queen busy now?"

Panaka nods, folding his hands in front of him and widening his stance. "Yes, Senator. She's in back-to-back meetings all day, but she expressed that she would be able to see you first thing tomorrow morning, if that's alright. Unless you need to speak to her immediately."

Padme shakes her head. "No, it's nothing urgent. I will speak to her when she's free. I'm going to see Galdrina."

Panaka nods again. "Alright, my lady. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. Enjoy your time in Thead, Senator Amidala."

Padme smiles. "It's been a pleasure, as usual, Panaka. And, I always enjoy my time home." She reaches out and pats his arm. "I will see you again before I go. Farewell." The three bow to one another before Padme walks past and makes her way toward the palace, offering a small nod to the faces in the Guard that she recognizes. Anakin follows close behind, also tipping his head to those that nod to him.

"Can I ask you something?" Anakin asks, stepping up to walk alongside Padme as they head toward the palace.

"Go ahead," Padme says, keeping her steps slow and purposeful, enjoying the familiar sights and sounds of her homeplanet. She has always enjoyed coming back to Thead. It was her home, even if the plot of land that her parents owed was outside of Thead, that place was never her home. She was never close with her parents and barely kept in touch, but she knew that if she had the choice she would never go home. Too many bad memories.

"Have you lived in Thead your entire life?"

Padme smiles thinly at the question. It made sense that Anakin would be curious, and he has the right to be. Padme isn't very forthcoming about her past, even after years of being married to Anakin. They never got to talk all that much about all of the aspects of their past. Up until the day the war ended, Padme and Anakin were still learning about each other. His questions are understandable.

"For the parts that mattered, yes," Padme says.

Anakin raises an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Padme shrugs her shoulders. "Nothing in particular. I lived on my families plot of land outside of Thead until I was six or seven, before I was sent to live at the schools here in Thead."

"Why were you sent away?" Anakin asks.

Padme keeps her voice even and monotone. "It was my civic duty. We are a political family with many ties in the government."

Anakin quickens his pace a bit so he can step in front of her. Now that he's had some time to sleep, he looks completely alert and like the Anakin she knows and loves. "You're holding something back," he says keenly. "What's wrong?"

Padme crosses her arms over her chest suddenly feeling trapped. "Nothing. It was just... better for everyone if I went."

She thought that she had chosen her words wisely, but judging by the look on Anakin's face, perhaps she said the wrong thing. Anakin has never asked her this before. Had he, she would have better known how to answer him. He was so smart, she had to be careful on what she said. She didn't want to kick up any old skeletons and wake their ghosts, especially since she's been living her life for so long pretending they weren't there.

"How could leaving your home been better for everyone?" Anakin asks, eyebrows pulled together tightly. "I don't understand that."

"Things were... complicated back home," Padme says, illusively. She looks around Anakin almost longingly, like she can physically walk away from this conversation like it's a bad day.

"For a six or seven year old?" Anakin asks, incredulously, stepping into her vision.

Padme shrugs her shoulders, crossing her arms more firmly over her chest. "I suppose so, yes. What matters is that I left to better my life, and for my family, and I think we are doing pretty good. As far as I know, my household is still successful and I achieved my dream of becoming the Senator of Naboo."

Anakin raises his eyebrow. "Not the Queen?"

"Being Queen was an honor," Padme says, dropping her arms and rolling her shoulders back. "But I wanted to serve Naboo as it's Senator. It's one thing to tell someone to proudly represent Naboo, but I want to actually be there. Do it myself because I truly believe I can do the job. Perhaps that sounds overly confident in my abilities, but I know that my interests will almost always be for the betterment of Naboo."

Padme steps around him and walks into the palace. Anakin follows closely at her flank. "What do you mean; almost always?"

Padme looks up at him. She doesn't say anything, but stares into his eyes for a moment, hoping that would be enough for him to understand. He was her exception. He always was. She couldn't outright betray Naboo, even for Anakin, but she wouldn't always do what was best for them if it put Anakin in mortal danger. She just couldn't bring herself to consciously do it.

Anakin stares back into her eyes, searching them deeply before he looks away, a tiny, innocent smile crosses his face. He must have understood what she didn't say. What she felt wasn't needed to be said.

"About your home," Anakin says after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?" Padme says, walking into the Palace and heading down the long, luxuriously decorated halls, heading toward the west wing of the Palace where Galdrina is.

"Have you ever thought about going back?"

"I am here now," Padme says, looking up at Anakin.

"No, I mean to your parents home," Anakin clarifies. "Don't you miss them?"

Padme stops for a moment, considering the question. She isn't sure how to answer that. She turns slowly to look up at Anakin. "I... don't. I don't know them well enough, or remember them enough, to miss them. I miss the relationship that I could have had with them, but it's all in the past. I am a completely different person than I was back them. I was a child, but now I'm an adult. I've lived this long without them, I don't really see myself having a real relationship with them."

Anakin frowns at that. Padme can tell that isn't what he wanted to hear. She didn't want to lie to him, though. She's spent so much of her life barely knowing her family, so now that she is so far into her life, feeling almost twenty-eight years old, but now physically be twenty-four years old it feels like it no longer matters. She has dedicated her life to the people of Naboo as a whole and it just doesn't feel necessary to try and be close to her parents and the rest of her family. She has Anakin, Luke and Leia.

The thought hits her like a freight train. She's glad that she's not moving, because she's sure she would have fallen over at the suddenness of the pain. She closes her eyes tightly, to try and stop the tidal wave of sadness washing over her. Luke and Leia. Her babies. Her babies with Anakin. How could she have not thought about them? How could she have tried so hard not to think about them? They were her babies. Her children. She had so much to apologize for, and pretending that they never existed just makes it so much worse.

She might be able to save Anakin - and she is going to do everything she can to do just that - but the chances of her having Luke and Leia again is so paper thin, it practically doesn't exist. Getting pregnant was always a chance game, getting pregnant precisely when you want to hope that the miracle of not one, but two eggs get fertilized, is so even more slim than that.

"Padme?" Anakin says, grabbing at her arm. "Are you okay? Does your back hurt?"

Padme looks down, avoiding his eyes. Anakin will never know about the children that they could have had. But in Padme's heart, they will always be. She was a terrible mother to them in the short amount of time that she was their mother, but she is going to work tirelessly to try and make the best of this. She will never forget about Luke and Leia, and will have to live with the choices she made when dealing with them for the rest of her life.

"I'm okay," Padme says, forcing the hurt down. She looks up at Anakin and smiles thinly. "Come, we don't want to keep Galdrina waiting."

 

Anakin steps back, letting Padme walk in first to the medbay in the Palace set aside for important dignitaries, the Queen, the Senator and anyone present in the Palace in dire need. Galdrina is highly praised in her field and is highly sought after. Padme is thankful that she is on good terms with the woman herself and the Queen to be able to request the time of such a busy woman.

The medbay is large, stark white and sterile. There is sixteen beds in total, lining either side of the room - all neat and pressed - with a large balcony on the other side of the room, doors open wide to let in all of the natural light and a cool breeze. Out on the balcony, Padme can see Galdrina standing, leaning on the large concrete railing, staring out over the city.

"Galdrina?" Padme calls out to the older woman.

Galdrina turns slowly, covering her mouth to cough a bit to herself before smiling happily and walking toward them. She stops a few feet away and bows her head to Padme.

"Senator," Galdrina says, her crisp, graying bun is recently redone with less than usual stray hairs than Padme has come to expect. She straightens up and gestures toward the nearest bed. "Sit, take off your dress." She steps forward and puts a hand on Padme's waist to help guide her over to the bed that she's gesturing to.

Padme holds up her hands. "Galdrina! I'm okay. My bandages were changed before I left. I'm okay, really."

Galdrina frowns at her. "From Coruscant?" Padme nods and Galdrina looks physically repulsed. "It's been much too long. You need them changed again."

Padme holds up her hands in surrender. "Okay, Galdrina, I know better than to argue with you, but can you look at Anakin first?"

Galdrina blinks a few times before turning her green eyes toward Anakin, giving him a once over. "Are you the one who needs the physical rehabilitation?" Anakin nods, mutely, appearing to be a bit over whelmed by Galdrina's big personality compact into a small body. She narrows her eyes a bit, looking him up and down before gesturing toward the bed for him to sit first.

Anakin sends Padme a wide-eyed look to which Padme returns with a smooth smile and steps out of the way to give Galdrina room to get a look at Anakin. Galdrina gestures toward Anakin. "Take it off."

Anakin quickly shrugs off his robe and offers his left arm toward the older woman. Galdrina rolls up Anakin's sleeve on that arm and leans in close to look at the place where his real arm meets the metal hand mid-forearm. She leans back and washes her hands, putting on some gloves before walking over and runs her thumbs across the place she was inspecting, looking up and watching Anakin's face for signs of discomfort.

"How long have you had the prosthetic?" She asks.

"Today will be almost a week and a half," Anakin says.

Galdrina tuts a bit, twisting his arm around a bit to get a good look at the entirety of his arm. She inspects all of the red spots around the metal attachment, pressing on them to see how he reacts.

"Are you in pain anywhere?" Galdrina asks.

"No, the hand doesn't hurt," Anakin says, looking around at anything but his hand.

Galdrina look sup at him, then to Padme, who also looks away, then back to Anakin and sighs. "Listen, boy, there is no shame in losing a limb. Sometimes it's unavoidable. It's not fun and I've had my fair share of time trying to help people who have lost them through this. You are a warrior. A Jedi. Your life is battle and with lightsabers in the game, you have to accept that the possibility of losing limbs is almost assured. Be thankful it wasn't your life." She gives him a meaningful look before inspecting the hand this time, making sure it was well crafted. "Besides, this doesn't make you less of a man, so don't think like that. Think of it as a perk that you didn't have before." She shrugs her shoulders.

"Lady Galdrina!" Doreen calls, bouncing into the room. His hands are full with one big box and one slightly smaller box stacked on top. He walks over to one of the other beds and drops them onto the floor next to it. He stands up, cracking his back before walking over to Padme and bowing low at the waist. "Senator, forgive me. I was unaware that you were going to be here when I arrived."

Padme smiles. "It is fine, Doreen. Thank you for everything you've done so far."

Doreen smiles, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. "Thank you, Senator. Oh! I'll be back!" He spins around on his heel and rushes out of the room without a second wasted.

Padme turns back to see Anakin looking toward the door while Galdrina hasn't even looked up from Anakin's hand. "That boy is always on the move." She shakes her head, straightening up. "The prosthetic is good. Strong and sturdy. How is moving it?"

"Tough," Anakin admits, finally looking down at the hand. He turns it around so that the palm is facing upward and closes it slowly. A crease forms between his eyebrows at the obvious strain.

Galdrina frowns at that. "After a week and a half?" She asks, shaking her head. "That shouldn't be that hard. Have you done any maintenance on the hand at all? Maybe there is a flaw on the inside that hinders it's movements, making it harder on you."

Anakin shakes his head. "No, I haven't. I'm not sure how prosthetics are suppose to work. I could probably figure it out, but I didn't want to ruin anything and not be able to fix it."

"When Doreen returns, he will be able to help you," Galdrina says. "He's got a better eye for that than I do. Once we've figured out whether it is a technical issue or simply not enough muscle build up to maneuver the hand, then we will be able to get started."

"He'll be back soon," Padme says.

Galdrina leans back, taking off her gloves and throwing them away. The door opens behind Padme. Galdrina looks up. "Speak of the devil," she says. "Welcome." She turns away to cough.

Anakin perks, jumping to his feet and spinning around, gray eyes wide. Padme doesn't have to turn to know who's standing behind her. Anakin's handsome face breaks out into a beautiful, happy smile.

"Mom..."

"She still needed to come see Galdrina," Padme says, when his happy eyes flicker down to her.

Padme turns to see Shmi and Cliegg Lars walking in with Doreen as their guide. Did he leave them behind at some point? Is that why he had to run back out after them?

Shmi's eyes lock onto Anakin and she basically runs to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and kisses his cheek five or six times. She pulls back and runs her hands over his cheeks. "Oh, Ani..." Tears slide down her face. "Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried."

"I'm okay, mom," Anakin says, looking a bit embarrassed.

Shmi smiles up at him. "You've always been able to take care of yourself, Anakin, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you. You are so important to me. I'm glad that you're okay."

Anakin smiles down at her. "Thank you."

 

"You look beautiful," Galdrina says as Padme walks into the medbay in her lakeview dress. She loved the open and flowiness of it with the Noobian air. That, and it was the dress that she and Anakin shared their first kiss in. In some ways, maybe she's a bit sentimental, even if it technically hasn't happened yet. Galdrina had taken a look at the forming scars on her back and deemed that she no longer needed the bandages, seeing as the wounds have healed over and stopped oozing and formed scabs. Padme doesn't mind them all that much, taking it as an enhancement to her beauty.

Padme liked the look on Anakin's face when he first saw her in that dress. Anakin looked at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy and while Padme knew at the time that it was wrong of him to look at her like that, there was just something about him that attracted her to him like a moth to flame. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from trying to catch his attention, and wearing a pretty dress was the only way that naïve and near inexperienced Padme figured would be able to catch his attention.

"Thank you," Padme says, walking over to the older woman, who was patting Shmi's hand in a comforting manner it seemed.

Shmi turns around on the bed, looking up at Padme with large, dark brown eyes. Her entire face transforms into a look of awe. She stands up and walks over to Padme, taking her hands and giving them a hearty squeeze, pleasing Padme with her strength.

"You are absolutely beautiful," she says, smiling lovingly.

Padme blushes a bit. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Anakin is so lucky to have you," Shmi says, shaking her head happily. She looks Padme up and down, looking... almost proud of her. It's kind of an odd thing to see. She knew that people have been proud of her before and spoke praise to her before, but it's odd coming from Shmi. Maybe it's because she's Anakin's mother that Padme feels this way, but it feels like it means so much more than anyone else.

Padme blushes even more, bowing her head a bit in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Oh, no, I wouldn't say that. I am the one lucky enough to have him as a friend."

Shmi's entire smile fades. She blinks a few times, as if she wasn't sure what she heard, she takes a moment to study Padme's face, looking slightly sad. "Is that all you are?"

Padme's eyebrows pull together tightly. "What? I..." She isn't sure what to say. She wanted to tell Shmi that she was in love with the older woman's son but just seeing the woman physically wilt at the admission of just friendship is kind of strange.

"Anakin loves you," Shmi says softly. "I suppose I thought..." She looks away, her eyebrows pulling together tightly.

"I love him too!" Padme blurts out, hoping to wipe that horribly sad look off the older woman's face. Galdrina looks between the two of them for a moment before quietly excusing herself to check on Anakin and Doreen, who were inspecting his metal hand. Both of them are so engrossed in talking about the mechanic's that they don't seem to notice Galdrina coming over to watch them. Or to hear Padme's really loud proclamation.

Shmi looks physically relieved to hear that. Her entire body actually sags in relief. "I am so glad." She squeezes Padme's hands tightly between her own. "I think the two of you were meant to be together."

Padme stares back at her, humored by this. It's honored that such a loving mother like Shmi would be happy with Padme being with her one and only child. Any insecurities she may have had about her relationship with Anakin in the eyes of his mother practically vanished. "How do you figure?" She asks, amused.

Shmi's smile is gentle and loving. She reaches up and lightly caresses Padme's face. "It's something that I can see. You know when someone loves someone that you love. It's intuition."

Padme bows her head. "Thank you." This is so embarrassing.

"Padme?"

Padme turns to look at Anakin, her eyes lock with his. He's half standing, half sitting. His beautiful eyes are wide and in awe. But more than that, he looked as if he was falling in love with her all over again.


End file.
